AgFunder Launches $1.2M Funding Campaign for Carana Agribusiness
Georgetown, Guyana (PRWEB) March 20, 2015 -- Carana Agribusiness, a for-profit aquaculture and agriculture company in Guyana, is raising a $1.225 million equity financing round on AgFunder, the Accredited Investment crowdfunding platform for agriculture and agriculture technology (“agtech”). Carana, which was initially created through funding from USAID and the UK Government, is seeking to capitalize on Guyana’s untapped market potential from its abundant land and water resources.
Carana Agribusiness is raising equity for its next round of farm expansion to scale its operations up to 500 acres over the next two years. The company raised $200,000 of seed capital in 2014, and used the proceeds to lease two 30-acre anchor farms beginning in October 2014. On one 30-acre farm, the company built an aquaculture operation stocked with 40,000 juvenile tambaqui that will be mature and ready for market by July this year. On the other 30-acre plot, they will begin farming habanero peppers in April for sale to Caribbean sauce processors.
“We had a good idea about how the process would go, but everything came together rapidly once we actually got started,” said CEO Patrick Henry about Carana Agribusiness’s growth following its October launch. “If anything, we were initially too conservative in how we thought we could get things done. Now we know we can move this quickly and scale out this fast.”
Carana Agribusiness is an independent offshoot of CARANA Corporation, an American-based international development firm that has led more than 250 projects in 100 countries since 1984. CARANA had spent over a decade laying the groundwork for this project managing projects in Guyana, including the USAID’s $6.7M Guyana Trade and Investment Support project. “Experience in the country helped the team realize that a more active, industry-wide approach was necessary in building profitable farms and establishing new markets,” Henry said.
Carana Agribusiness has entered a 90-day investment period on AgFunder with a target equity raise of $1.225M for the round. The company’s current fish production and pepper crop are valued at ~$650,000, assuming harvest and sale from July 2015. Henry reports that he expects revenue to grow from $650,000 in 2015 to $8 million by 2018. The operating team is comprised of alumni from Harvard, Ohio State, and American University.
“Our focus at AgFunder is mostly on agtech, but we're also excited to bring on alternative agriculture investment opportunities that we think will be of interest to investors, especially in emerging markets where capital is difficult to access,” says Rob Leclerc, AgFunder’s CEO.
Carana Agribusiness hosted a webinar on Thursday, March 11th for Accredited Investors interested in learning more about the opportunity. To learn more about Carana or watch the webinar recording, visit http://agfunder.com/listings/.
About AgFunder
AgFunder is the world’s first equity-based investment platform created specifically to connect investors with world-class agriculture and agtech investment opportunities from around the globe. Every project featured on AgFunder is evaluated for its economic and technical merits by our expert team of agriculture and business experts, providing potential investors access to some of the most promising agriculture investment opportunities around the globe. For more information visit http://agfunder.com.
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Contact: Melissa Tilney, melissa(at)agfunder(dot)com
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Carana Agribusiness is engaged in a Rule 506(c) offering, and securities are only available to verified Accredited Investors. This communication may include “forward looking information” and actual results may vary from estimates or expectations stated herein.
Securities offered through WealthForge, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. AgFunder is not a registered broker-dealer and does not give investment advice with respect to any securities. The offerings listed are offered by the applicable Issuer. AgFunder has not taken any steps to verify the accuracy of the information provided on the offerings that are listed. AgFunder takes no part in the negotiation of the transaction and no securities are executed through the AgFunder platform. AgFunder receives no compensation in connection with the purchase or sale of securities. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of all clients. Testimonials are not a guarantee of future performance or success. Hyperlinks to sites outside of our domain do not constitute an approval or endorsement of content on the visited site. Past performance is not an indication of future results.
Melissa Tilney, Head of Marketing, AgFunder, http://www.agfunder.com, +1 312-805-7356, [email protected]
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