The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) is pleased to announce that the Puerto Rico Fund for Growth, L.P. has invested $4 million in Semillero Investment Fund I, LLC (“Semillero”), an agribusiness, private equity fund based on the island. Semillero will focus on investing in sustainable food and agriculture businesses with a view to substitute food imports with local production in Puerto Rico. We are excited about this because, even before the hurricane, 85% of food and beverage consumed in Puerto Rico was imported. The opportunity for import substitution of just 15% of those imports is a $1 billion market, which has the potential to create jobs and economic value across the island’s economy, the significance of which is only amplified in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
The Puerto Rico Fund for Growth, L.P. is a fund of funds investing in debt, venture capital, and private equity funds that invest in businesses that operate or provide employment in Puerto Rico. The Fund is managed by a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDVCA.