Alive Ventures, the Colombian impact investment firm co-founded by Santiago Álvarez and Virgilio Barco, completed the definitive closing of its second fund for US$55 million. The vehicle, called ALEG II, consolidates it as one of the largest impact investment managers in the Andean region, focused on Colombia and Peru.
The fund attracted commitments from institutions such as Proparco, FMO, Impact Fund Denmark, Dutch Good Growth Fund, the MacArthur Foundation and Acumen, as well as regional players such as Bancoldex, Cofide and Fundación Bancolombia. About 60% of the capital comes from development banks, 50% comes from Europe and 40% from Latin America.
Alive Ventures: Fintech and climate as investment axes
The fund has already invested in 11 startups, with 40% of the portfolio concentrated in fintech. Among its bets are Agricapital, Finmaq, Creditu and Prestamype, focused on productive credit and access to housing for populations outside the traditional financial system.
In climate, Alive is betting on companies such as Hybrico, which provides solar energy as a service for telecommunications towers, and Solfium, which helps neighborhood stores in Mexico to adopt photovoltaic solutions. Its strategy focuses on the Early Growth stage: companies with a validated product but limited access to capital, targeting Pre-Series A and Series A rounds.
“The companies in our portfolio have had a positive impact on more than 13 million lives, where 52% are vulnerable populations that live on less than US$11 a day,” said Santiago Álvarez.
Investments that are validated with numbers
With its first vehicle of US$28 million, Alive invested in eight companies and demonstrated that high social impact models can maintain constant growth even in adverse contexts. With ALEG II, it aims to build a portfolio of around 15 companies.
The firm also has the support of its strategic alliance with Acumen, which provides more than 20 years of experience investing in more than 115 companies around the world. In parallel, he announced the promotion of Maria Pia Morante to partner, after almost nine years leading transactions and strengthening the impact, gender and climate frameworks within the firm.
