Climate Finance for Sustainable Development: Interview with SOTY 2024 Nominee, Violet

Hey Hackers,

Violet has been nominated in HackerNoon's annual Startups of The Year awards in São Paulo, Brazil.

Read more about us below to understand why we deserve your vote:

Meet Violet

Violet is Brazil's first climate finance marketplace for nature-based solutions. We connect farmers, companies, and investors in a transparent, high-impact ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices in agribusiness and forestry. Our mission is to transform Brazilian agriculture and forest management through innovative financial solutions, catalyzing a shift in rural finance towards sustainability and providing access to formal credit for previously underserved beneficiaries.

How Violet achieved product-market fit

Violet is addressing the complex challenges in climate finance for nature-based solutions. We're focusing on developing user-friendly solutions, ensuring transparency, and reducing transaction costs. Our approach includes creating modular solutions adaptable to various stakeholder needs and implementing a pilot-to-scale strategy. While still in development, early stakeholder feedback indicates we're on the right track in this innovative sector.

The Evolution of Violet

Since our foundation, Violet's journey has been marked by a strong focus on market understanding, discovery, and planning. This approach has provided us with valuable insights and helped us avoid unnecessary rework. Our evolution has been characterized by small, quick, and cost-effective pivots rather than major shifts in strategy.

Our development process has been heavily influenced by user feedback from farmers, companies, and investors. This input has been crucial in:

1. Validating the existence of specific problems for each stakeholder group.
2. Identifying pain points and prioritizing features.
3. Preparing for the complexity of business rules while accommodating different use cases.

One of our biggest challenges has been designing a highly flexible and modular architecture. We're navigating a new sector with many "known unknowns" and "unknown unknowns," which requires us to build solutions on the go. To address this, we've adopted a pragmatic approach:

1. Avoiding reinventing the wheel.
2. Simplifying processes wherever possible.
3. Utilizing existing, tested solutions from other providers.
4. Implementing automation gradually rather than all at once.

This iterative approach allows us to remain agile and responsive to market needs while building a robust and scalable platform.

Milestones and achievements

• Founded in 2024 as a spinoff of VERT, leveraging over a decade of experience in sustainable finance and capital markets in Brazil.
• Specialized in innovative financial solutions for sustainable development in Agriculture, Forestry, and Land Use sectors in the Amazon and Cerrado.
• Achieved rapid regulatory approval and gained international recognition, including being a finalist in the G20 Techsprint 2024 for Nature-Based Solutions.
• Developed a digital platform for efficient financial transactions and impact reporting.
• Co-created an advanced Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) with key partners, focusing on the Amazon's socio-bioeconomy.
• Established strategic partnerships with global initiatives and local coalitions to amplify our impact.

Lessons learned

Our journey has presented several challenges, each offering valuable lessons:

1. Regulatory complexity: Navigating Brazil's intricate regulatory environment for both finance and agriculture/forestry has been challenging. Lesson: Invest in strong legal and compliance teams early on, and maintain open dialogues with regulatory bodies.

   
   

2. Stakeholder adoption: Initially, some stakeholders were hesitant to engage with a new and complex system. Lesson: Education, clear communication of benefits, and demonstrable results are crucial for adoption across all stakeholder groups.

   
   

3. Technology integration: Implementing advanced technology across diverse agricultural and forestry operations presents unique challenges. Lesson: Start with simpler tech solutions that address immediate needs, then gradually introduce more sophisticated systems as users become more comfortable.

   
   

4. Balancing stakeholder interests: Aligning the needs of farmers, companies, and investors in a new market is an ongoing process. Lesson: Continuous communication, transparency, and a flexible approach are key to maintaining a balanced ecosystem that benefits all parties.

What Startups of The Year means to us

Participating in HackerNoon's Startups of the Year is an exciting opportunity for Violet. We hope to gain increased visibility in the global tech community, which could lead to new partnership opportunities. Moreover, we see this as a platform to showcase the potential of climate finance, sustainable agriculture, and forestry, inspiring other entrepreneurs to innovate in this critical sector.

Conclusion

At Violet, we're committed to transforming Brazilian agribusiness and forestry through sustainable finance. We believe that by connecting farmers, companies, and investors in a transparent, high-impact ecosystem, we can create a more sustainable and prosperous future for all. Our journey so far has been challenging but incredibly rewarding, and we're excited about the potential impact we can achieve in the years to come.