H2O Agriculture
We create enterprises whose products and services make smallholder farming more profitable.
H2O Health
We work with innovative technologies and business processes to create better health for all.
H2O Environment
We implement new solutions to the environmental challenges facing our developing world.

Our major focus is on poverty, and smallholder agriculture is key to poverty alleviation and inclusive economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. Major gaps persist in smallholder value chains where it is necessary to conduct the green-field development of new enterprises to increase smallholder incomes. H2O Impact Ventures has an unparalleled track record of entrepreneurship, creating innovative new enterprises that fill important gaps in crop value chains and making smallholder farming more profitable. Watch the video, opposite, from our first SEED Programme, in partnership with the UK DfID and University of Edinburgh.

Our Investment Thesis

“H2O is unique in building new enterprises from scratch, systematically and at scale.”

We believe that social enterprises have the potential to harness commercial discipline to deliver profitable, long-term impact. From input manufacture and supply through to post harvest handling and value-add processing, major failures persist across developing agricultural value chains where functioning enterprises should exist to offer the products and services that smallholders need to grow their profits. H2O creates businesses that provide these products and services to support smallholder farming upstream and downstream of the farmer. This ‘agricultural investment 2.0’ is a largely vacant commercial space and, unlike primary production, these enterprises can be highly scalable and capable of impacting many lives.

Much effort has been directed at incubating, accelerating and investing in preexisting enterprises to fill value-chain gaps. More often than not, however, there are no existing enterprises to promote. In this case, new enterprises must be created from scratch: H2O is unique in the sector in doing this systematically and at scale.

Building new enterprises from the bottom up, we can develop effective business models that align impact and commerciality to address well validated needs, that are ambitious and scalable, that can put significant capital to work, and that can recruit management with the appropriate skills to deliver the business. Moreover, we have full control over the strategic development of a balanced portfolio of synergistic enterprises that can work together to solve multiple failures in a value-chain simultaneously. 

Our Process

“A gated-process leading from identifying a market opportunity to a new enterprise operating at scale"

The ‘Origination’ phase is conducted on the ground, over 6-12 months. Ideation: initial mapping of smallholder value chains to identify gaps which are evaluated and taken forward on their potential for commercialisation and impact. Validation: detailed market research to further validate the opportunity for impact and commerciality, from high level meetings with key actors, through focus group meetings with potential customers and ultimately quantitative primary market research. Planning: development of the offering and the business model, culminating in the production of a five year financial model and supporting business plan to include details for a 12 month pilot phase.

The 12-month pilot phase reduces the enterprise to trading practice at a scale that minimises financial risk whilst providing a meaningful test of the key assumptions on which the profitability of the scaled business rests. We identify and monitor key trading metrics, derived from the financial model, that help us to identify the ways in which trading reality inevitably diverges from the initial plan. This is when the creative problem solving really begins and the true business emerges. The path is never smooth, but we have learned how to draw lessons and implement effective solutions whilst preserving capital.

Scale-Up Predicated on a successful pilot, the Series A business plan is prepared. The new plan incorporates lessons learned during the pilot, detailed planning of the growth phase and any requirement to develop the management team – including, as needed, transitioning from pilot MD to a CEO more appropriate to the bigger business. We raise the finance required to scale the business and achieve profitability. This leverages H2O’s extensive network of active equity and debt investors, and other partners providing essential financial services such as trade finance and factoring. H2O expects to have a long term role on the Board of the business, for so long as our knowledge and network can add value.

Citizen Bird

Launched in 2017, Citizen Bird’s ambition is to create a network of thousands of instrumented bird boxes across the UK and internationally to use citizen science to better understand the effect of habitat and climate change on wild vertebrates.

Farm Fresh

A Rwandan beans processor exporting across East Africa. Farm Fresh increases incomes for smallholder bean producers, and by reducing the use of firewood and charcoal improves the health of consumers and significantly reduces CO2 emissions.

Fuel 3D

Spun out of Oxford University as Eykona in 2008, Fuel 3D applies cutting edge stereo photogrammetry for 3D imaging across multiple sectors. We are particularly proud of its impact in healthcare - oncology, wound imaging & brain surgery.

Gorilla Honey

Gorilla Honey markets honey to increase smallholder incomes, reducing economic exploitation of the Virunga Forest, refuge of the Mountain Gorilla. The distinctive Virunga honey is used as a ‘hero ingredient’ by Western Food & Beverage partners.

Ingabo Plant Health

Since 2014, Ingabo has pioneered the supply of critical inputs needed by Rwandan smallholders to control pests and diseases. Buying direct from manufacturers, Ingabo drives down prices whilst its direct supply model increases access.

Microbial Solutions

Microbial Solutions was spun out of Oxford’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in 2007 to commercialise a biological process for the treatment of oily waste waters, particularly metal working fluids. The technology was acquired by BP in 2014.

Milele Animal Health

Milele launched in 2018 in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania in partnership with GALVmed, to develop a sustainable model for the supply of veterinary products and services to smallholder livestock farmers in hard-to-reach communities.

Oxitec

Spun out of the Zoology Department of Oxford University in 2002, Oxitec develops genetic techniques to control insects of agricultural and public health importance. In 2015 Oxitec was acquired by Intrexon Corp (now Precigen).

Rumbuka Seeds

Since 2015, Rumbuka has worked with smallholder cooperative out-growers to multiple and distribute high yielding maize seed varieties in Rwanda, increasing yields – and incomes – for Rwandan smallholder farmers.

Sarura Commodities

Sarura cleans, aggregates and trades beans and maize from Rwandan smallholders, in country, in region, and internationally. It’s innovative ‘warrantage’ system allows farmers to participate in the increased sale prices secured from premium offtakes.

Sigasira Health

Sigasira is an early stage Rwandan enterprise developing a portfolio of WASH and nutrition products. By distributing through Community Health Workers, Sigasira increases CHW incomes whilst improving the health of rural communities.

Structured Eye

Structured Eye was spun out of City, University of London in 2014 to develop a novel retinal imaging device based on structured illumination ophthalmoscopy, targeting low cost diagnosis of Glaucoma. Structured Eye is currently dormant.

Zana Tools

Zana was launched in 2015 to develop and market low-cost, labour-saving agricultural tools for smallholders, aimed particularly at those crops which, through intensification, could no longer be managed manually. Zana is currently dormant.

360 Genomics

360 Genomics was established in 2008 to exploit an exquisitely sensitive method of preferentially amplifying point mutations in cell-free DNA in blood, for the early diagnosis of cancers. 360 was acquired by EKF Diagnostics in 2013.

H2O

©H2OVP 2020

Links

Contacts

UK Registered Office:
264 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 7DY
England

Rwanda Registered Office:
Umuyenzi Plaza, KG5 Road
Remera, Kigali
Rwanda

Phone: +44 (0)1865 251000