Denmark-based biotechnology developer Novozymes has formed a not-for-profit incubator called Diva that will invest alongside large corporations, the company told The Guardian on Friday.
In an article co-authored by Novozymes’ head of sustainability innovation, Stefan Maard, and Diva co-founder Morten Møller Holst, the company revealed details of the incubator, which has been formed with World Business Council for Sustainable Development and pro bono assistance from legal firm Pillsbury Law.
Diva will co-invest in impact ventures with corporates, while also utilising philanthropic and concessional capital to reduce the risk for its commercial partners in the process.
The incubator was formed using knowledge gained by Novzymes from a sustainable ethanol production venture launched in Mozambique in 2010, where it partnered with a for-profit impact venture developer and secured capital from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Soros Economic Development Fund and Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries.