Treedom, an Italian company that promotes the planting of trees and forests worldwide, announced that it has raised €10M in funding after a series of investments from former Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg and Giorgio Chiellini, the captain of the Italian national football team.
Other investors include the holding company Exor N.V., DVR Capital and the global platform Ourcrowd, as well as Luigi de Vecchi, Andrea Guerra, Giovanni Moratti, Allegra and Alessia Antinori, Pietro Valsecchi.
The new partners complement the recent investment of €3M by Banca Generali through its 8A+ Real Innovation fund.
“When, a few months ago, Nico Rosberg contacted us,” explained Federico Garcea, CEO of Treedom, “we were delighted. Of course, we know him as a sports idol, but above all, we were impressed by his awareness of sustainability and his far-sighted investment decisions. When we met in Berlin to seal the partnership, I told Nico to imagine the impact we could have if every person or company in Europe gave a tree even once a year. This is our shared vision, to make the world greener one tree at a time.”
Fund utilisation
Treedom plans to use the funds to develop its digital platform, launch new planting projects, and open subsidiaries in Paris and Amsterdam later this year.
The investment comes after a virtual panel discussion on Tuesday, 21st September, “How to have an impact on global warming: planting trees in the right way,” with Federico Garcea, CEO of Treedom, Martina Fondi, forestry manager of Treedom, and Nico Rosberg, Formula 1 world champion and sustainable entrepreneur.
“This idea of social business combined with absolute transparency is a winner, I think,” says Rosberg.
“Treedom’s approach has convinced me from the beginning because I also believe that local communities should be offered opportunities through sustainability. Only in this way can lasting change be achieved,” he adds.
Adopt a tree
Founded by Federico Garcea, Lorenzo Martelletti, and Tommaso Speroni in 2010, Treedom allows people and companies to plant trees and follow them online, financing local farmers globally. The company provides farmers with the know-how and technical support for planting and managing trees.
Every single tree is planted, photographed, geolocated, and is visible online, says the company.
Since its inception, the company has planted more than 2,000,000 trees in Africa, South America, Asia, and Italy. All trees are planted directly by local farmers and help to produce environmental, social, and economic benefits.
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