{"id":7111,"date":"2026-04-09T14:22:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.openvaluefoundation.org\/?p=7111"},"modified":"2026-04-09T14:22:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:22:06","slug":"blog-post-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/2026\/04\/09\/blog-post-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog post 21"},"content":{"rendered":"

It's not just financing, it's supporting. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we finance a company from Open Value Foundation, our intention is to become a partner that brings added value. We want to to provide support during the company's long-term growth<\/strong>, to ensure it has a greater chance of sustaining itself over time, growing, and continuing to generate the social impact we champion it for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this end, following the logic of Venture Philanthropy, the first step is to try, as far as possible, to adapt to the company's needs from the moment we negotiate the terms of the agreement, modifying the grace period, interest rate, and any other clause that can make the relationship more fruitful and the stated objectives easier to achieve. We're not just looking for the company to be able to repay us the money lent with some economic return and without faltering in the attempt, but, above all, for it to be capable of generating more social impact than it generated when we began our relationship.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In relation to this last point, and again in line with the Venture Philanthropy approach, are impact measurement and management; one of the pillars on which our relationship with companies is founded and on which we work together throughout the duration of the partnership. 

The last factor that enters the Venture Philanthropy equation is technical assistance or non-financial support. In this regard, at Open Value Foundation, we try to add value to companies beyond financing. It's a \u2018win-win\u2019, as the company gains access to resources, knowledge, tools, contacts... that it previously didn't have access to, and which, in many cases, are key elements to pave the way for consolidation, growth, maximising impact, and loan repayment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Husk<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Husk Ventures' Success Story: First Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, we invested for the first time in Husband<\/strong> Ventures<\/strong><\/a>, a social enterprise based in Cambodia whose mission is to improve the livelihoods of small-scale rice producers by converting their husks into high-quality biochar. This material, in addition to coming from an agricultural waste product that would normally be discarded and destroyed, serves as a base for producing natural fertilisers, substrates, and pesticides that improve soil health, land productivity, and farmers' incomes.

<\/strong>The team behind Husk Ventures is a committed team<\/strong>, with a clear sense of purpose and great capability. Heloise and Carol approached us when the project was still little more than an idea. At that moment, we decided to back that embryo and made an initial donation of \u20ac10,000 so they could fully develop the idea. Today, it is a source of pride to see how Husk Ventures has exceeded any expectations we may have had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After forming a team and carrying out their first round of investment, in which the Open Value Foundation wished to participate with a Loan of \u20ac40,000,<\/strong>Husk managed to get enough money to set up a pilot plant in which to develop its first products<\/strong> and be able to test their solution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The The first results were very positive<\/strong> and the company quickly managed to produce figures of turnover that could be used to draw up a viability plan. A roadmap and a strategic plan were established, which were adhered to, overcoming the various obstacles encountered along the way. During this time, among other things, Open Value Foundation worked with Husk on its Theory of Change. This resulted in indicators that the company would have to report on, and which would also serve to attract new investors in the future, given that they would demonstrate that the project was truly making a difference in the lives of the smallholders using Husk's fertiliser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic arrived and the Husk team not only held their own but decided to continue refining their business model to keep growing. They started to value carbon credits and the market that exists around them. <\/strong>and saw an opportunity to get a new revenue stream<\/strong> through the marketing of carbon credits. 

And by transforming a waste product like rice husks into biochar, The husk prevents it from degrading and releasing carbon into the atmosphere<\/a><\/strong>, producing CO2. Specifically, for every tonne of biochar<\/strong> that the company produces, 1.56 tonnes of CO2 emissions are avoided. For this reason, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) declared biochar a NET (Negative Emission Technology) in 2018. In turn, in 2020, Husk was certified by the European Biochar Certificate as a carbon sink. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New business plan, new objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They carried out a New business plan<\/strong> which integrated this new variable, and they realised that they had to produce much more fertiliser to achieve figures that would make entering this market viable. For this, they needed a new pyrolysis machine that would allow them to produce sufficient quantities of biochar to be able to promise future production and sell what are known as carbon credits futures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbon credits allow for the quantification and trading of emissions reductions, and are generated through projects such as Husk's, which aim to mitigate or avoid emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. A future carbon credit allows for upfront payment for an amount of GHGs that is intended to be reduced, offset, or neutralised in the future.

Buyers of these futures can acquire carbon credits at an agreed price today for delivery at a future date, offering them the assurance of a set quantity of credits to meet their emissions reduction targets. There is an entire market, including intermediaries who buy and sell these carbon credit futures, facilitating the liquidity and transfer of these instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year ago, Husk knocked on our door again, asking us another loan to be able to face the purchase of the machine<\/strong> which would allow them to multiply production. The company had been repaying the first loan we had granted them on time and in full, and this contributed to our decision to explore this new opportunity. 

After a detailed analysis, we understood that, as soon as they had the machine purchased, they could start selling carbon credit futures and begin repaying the loan. We decided to grant them a new loan of \u20ac40,000,<\/strong> which, although it only covered 20% of what they needed to buy the new machine, provided a significant boost, enabling them to approach other investors with the confidence that they had already taken the first steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year later, Husk Ventures has repaid the loan we granted them for the purchase of the machine and is about to finish repaying the first loan we granted them in 2018.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No es solo financiar, es acompa\u00f1ar  Cuando financiamos a una empresa desde Open Value Foundation, nuestra intenci\u00f3n es convertirnos en un socio que aporte un valor adicional. Queremos servir de apoyo durante el crecimiento de la empresa a largo plazo, para asegurarnos de que tenga m\u00e1s posibilidades de sostenerse en el tiempo, de crecer y de […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-post"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7113,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7111\/revisions\/7113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openvaluefoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}