At last week’s Impact Minds conference in Medellín, Colombia, Sonen Capital’s Founding Partner, Raúl Pomares joined the session Impact Investment in Latin America: Connecting Territory, Capital, and Innovation. The discussion focused on how capital can respond to Latin America’s realities by integrating local perspectives, creating opportunities for scale, and embracing a systems change approach.
Innovation and opportunity have positioned Latin America as a rising technology hub. The region has produced 46 unicorns since 2021, with another dozen on the verge of reaching US$ 1 billion valuations.1 This surge is also attracting a new generation of fund managers, with 67% of the regions 300+ impact funds led by local teams.2
At the same time, Latin America plays a critical role in food systems, accounting for 14 percent of global food production and serving as the largest net food-exporting region worldwide.3 What makes the region especially compelling for impact investors is its leadership in innovation for sustainability. In Brazil, for example, climate-smart agriculture has achieved a remarkable 75 percent adoption rate of no-till farming, with approximately 33 million hectares under this method4, boosting carbon sequestration compared to conventional practice.
The discussion transitioned from sector opportunities to measuring progress, specifically, how can systemic impact be measured alongside smaller, linked outcomes? Raúl emphasized that “being an impact investor requires measuring your impact, but it’s critical that this is not done in an overly academic way. The metrics should be relevant to the entrepreneurs and funds you’re backing, and they should evolve as businesses grow and mature.” The impact measurement and management debate is ongoing, and according to The GIIN, comparing impact results to peers, and fragmentation across impact measurement frameworks, are still among the largest challenges noted by impact investors.5
As impact investing in Latin America continues to accelerate, it’s clear that the region’s combination of technological innovation and agricultural prominence positions it as a high-potential landscape for systemic change. For investors seeking innovative, sustainable opportunities, Latin America is a market that deserves consideration in any global climate investment strategy.
- Bnamericas. Snapshot: Latin America’s Potential New Unicorns. 2/17/2025
- Tameo, 2025
- IDB. Latina America’s Role in Global Food Security. Trade, Investment, and Sustainable Transformations.
- Cerulogy. Multiple and Cover Cropping in Brazil. Status and Opportunities for Biofueld Producion. 2022.
- The GIIN. What you need to know about Impact Investing. 1/24/25
