Webinar: Unlocking Finance and Scalability for Cold Rooms-As-A-Service

Introduction

Did you know that almost 40% of the world’s food goes to waste before it even reaches the market?

This widespread food wastage not only places economic strain on farmers but also contributes to food insecurity for millions of people globally. A significant problem in many regions is the scarcity of accessible cold storage facilities. Thankfully, innovative solutions are emerging to combat this issue. Entrepreneurs and cooling companies are collaborating to establish decentralised cold storage rooms using a servitisation model known as Cooling-as-a-Service. This model empowers farmers to store their produce on a pay-per-use basis, effectively reducing food wastage.

When combined with digital tools, this approach extends the shelf life of fresh agricultural products, enables better decision-making, and improves market access for farmers.

However, a substantial challenge remains in scaling and accelerating these solutions. Cooling companies often require additional funding to support and expand their operations. This challenge is particularly pronounced for newer businesses seeking to demonstrate their creditworthiness to potential investors. To bridge this financing gap in the agricultural cooling sector, BASE Foundation’s Servitisation for Energy Transition (SET) Alliance and the Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant initiative are delighted to announce a three-part webinar series dedicated to understanding and addressing this financing gap.

These sessions will delve into the current financing landscape, present various perspectives from financial and refrigeration companies, and foster dialogue among financiers, cooling companies, and the research community.

Webinar 1 – 08/11: 14:00-15:00 CET

Cold Storage Financing in Agriculture: Where are we now and where do we want to go?

The first instalment of our webinar series provides a comprehensive overview of multi-dimensional impacts, barriers, business models, instruments and tools relevant to scaling agricultural cold storage. The session will explore in particular the financial landscape for cold rooms offered with ‘Cooling as a Service’ (CaaS). Our expert speakers will walk you through various ways to unlock finance, discovering key financial instruments, what matters to investors and challenges faced by companies to meet investment criteria.

Speakers:

• Ben Hartley, Programme Manager of the Cooling for All programme at SEforALL
• Sabine Desczka, Senior Coordinating Researcher for Impact Investment at Wageningen Economic Research
• Harsha Vishnumolakala, Analyst at the Climate Policy Initiative
• Bas Hetterscheid, operations and supply chain management specialist at Wageningen University
• Celina Schelle (Moderator), Climate Finance Specialist at BASE

Watch the first session here:

• Access the speaker presentations and find answers to questions posed in the webinar chat here.

UPCOMING

Webinar 2 – 15/11: 14:00-15:30 CET

Unlocking Finance for Cold Rooms and Cooling as a Service: Insights and Strategies from the Field and Finance

In this second webinar of the series you will gain insights from financiers on the criteria that cooling companies must meet when securing funding, as well as a better understanding of financier expectations and practical solutions for financing cold storage. Cooling companies will share their fundraising experiences and current challenges. The expert panel of financiers will discuss existing information gaps that can hinder funding, along with practical solutions. The webinar further explores how digital technology enhances the value proposition for financiers and emphasises the pivotal role of data in demonstrating creditworthiness and highlighting social and environmental sustainability to potential funders.

Speakers:

• Mathias Charles Yabe, CEO of AkoFresh
• Michael Franz, Team Leader at GET.Invest
• Zach Bloomfield, Development Finance Expert at GET.Invest
• Chinua Azubike, Managing Director at Infracredit
• Roberta Evangelista, Senior Digitalisation Specialist at BASE Foundation
• Paul Van Der Linden, CEO of Enviu and SokoFresh Co-Founder
• Emma Wink (Moderator), SET Alliance Project Lead at BASE Foundation

Watch the second session here:

• Access the speaker presentations here.

Webinar 3: 22/11; 14.00-16:00 CET: Link, Learn, Lead: Connecting Financiers and Cooling Companies to scale decentralised off-grid agricultural cold storage 

In the final session of the series, we bring together researchers, cooling companies, and financiers through an interactive online format that provides opportunities for knowledge sharing, connecting dots, and identifying concrete pathways to financing cold storage with a focus on Cooling as a Service as a promising business model. Key questions, challenges and lessons learned from the previous sessions will inform the discussion with the goal of identifying concrete approaches and pathways for companies and investors to scale decentralised off-grid cold storage.

Speakers: Coming up soon!

Don’t miss out on this exceptional opportunity to be part of the solution and drive positive change in cooling for agriculture. Join us for our webinar series and help us bridge the financing gap, accelerating a more sustainable and secure future for farmers and communities worldwide!

You can now register here.