ATEC Biodigesters International, an Australia-registered clean technology (cleantech) company that is active in Cambodia, recently accepted an unspecified amount of debt financing from US-based investor Beneficial Returns. ATEC plans to use the loan to launch a pay-as-you-go (paygo) model, allowing farmers in Cambodia to acquire biodigesters, which use microorganisms to break down organic material into fertilizer and cooking gas. The households then pay for the apparatus in monthly installments. In case of late payment, the equipment can be disabled remotely. (For safety, this feature is coupled with a mechanism that releases the pressure in the tank if it gets too high.) Each biodigester package costs USD 650 and includes the biodigester, a compatible cookstove, installation, training and a two-year warranty.
The parties to the loan were matched through the Impact Partners Program of the Singapore-based Impact Investment Exchange (IIX). According to IIX, ATEC’s paygo service will enable 7,500 households “to access clean energy, reduce exposure to indoor air pollution, free up over three hours per day per household – especially for women – from basic cooking and fuel needs, and avoid 33,000 metric tons of carbon emissions per year.”
Founded in 2015 in the city of San Francisco, Beneficial Returns operates a debt investment fund offering loans of USD 50,000 to USD 500,000. These loans are for revenue-producing and cost-saving equipment for enterprises focused on sustainable agriculture, sustainable energy, waste reduction and poverty reduction in Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Financial data is not available for Beneficial Returns or ATEC.
By Anna Gravois, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Direct contact with ATEC
Deal Street Asia article
https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/atec-beneficial-returns-149702/
ATEC homepage
https://www.atecbio.com
Beneficial Returns homepage
http://www.beneficialreturns.com
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