WHAT? Natura &Co announced the launch of a corporate Venture Capital Fund, dubbed Natura Ventures. The fund will jointly be managed by Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Vox Capital and impact investment firm Vox Capital.
DETAILS A report published by Global Venturing quoting Epoca Negocios states that the fund was endowed with a capital of R$50million and has been tasked to invest in 15 start-ups focusing on the circular economy, customer service technology and beauty sectors.
WHY? According to Global Venturing, Jose Manuel Silva, Vice president of New Business for Natura &Co Latin America told Epoca Negocios, “Natura had been doing open innovation since over 20 years and we already worked in some ways with corporate venture capital, but without an official VC Instrument.
“We have spent the last nine months planning our next 15 years and we think that it is time to have our own tool, which will be used to implement our innovation strategies. It gives us more firepower.”