Skip to content
Impact investing and bio-businesses in Latin AmericaLATAM

Professional portfolio, 2013 to 2026

How do we scale impact businesses in Latin America? And with what capital?

Scaling an impact business means getting operations in order, opening markets and securing the financing that fits its stage. I have worked on those 3 layers for more than 13 years: first running industrial plants at scale, then building bio-businesses and now preparing companies for capital.

Base
Latin America, from Peru
Initiatives
Co-founder of Redesign Lab and Fondo de Impacto
Councils
Executive member of the CEIBA Council and member of the Regenerative Organic Alliance’s Fiber & Materials Global Committee
Books
Co-author of the Bio Business Playbook and the Playbook Circular LatAm
Read Del potencial al capitalSee the career
Lorenzo Ortiz speaking with a microphone on a COP16 panel
Panel «Regenerative Businesses for the Amazon», Peru Pavilion, COP16, Cali, 2024. Photo: PVBLIC Foundation.
13+years in industrial operations, investment projects and bio-businessesUSD 85Min industrial CAPEX evaluated, close to that figureUSD 2.7M+raised: USD 1.5M in impact capital and USD 1.2M in grants100+organisations supported in their investment readiness17countries with projects, from Peru
  1. 1Career, 2013 to today
  2. 27 countries, 2021 to 2026
  3. 32021 to 2026
  4. 4NESsT, CODESPA, Qallariy and Climathon, among others
  5. 5See the map

From the plant to the investment committee.

In impact investing, most professionals come from finance or from international cooperation. I came from operations. I ran industrial plants, evaluated investment projects in 7 countries and then built bio-businesses as COO.

That experience changes how I read a business plan. Before looking at the valuation, I look at the real unit economics, the installed capacity and the harvest cash cycle. My work turns operating data into investment decisions.

Read the full career

Operate, evaluate, build, finance

Tap a stage to see its milestones

Today I prepare impact companies for a specific type of capital, working with funders, investment funds and international cooperation.

100+organisations supported in their investment readiness
Read the full finance stage
  • TodayTechnical Lead of the Impact Investing Unit of Swisscontact in Colombia.
  • Fondo de ImpactoCo-founder and COO: fund operations and the Investment Passport platform.
  • NetworkWork with funders, investment funds and international cooperation across Latin America.
  • 2025CEIBA Council, first cohort, by personal invitation.
  • 2026Pilot in Ucayali: leads access to capital and programme design.

From Peru, with projects in 17 countries

Latin America is the base of my work. Industrial projects, bio-businesses and financing programmes took me to 17 countries, from Mexico to Chile and from London to Beijing. Tap a country to see what was done there and its sources.

125° W135° E
Latin America, the operating baseProjects, programmes and networks outside the region

Peru

  • Industrial fishing and food operations at Grupo Gloria and Grupo Breca (2013 to 2021, and 2023 to 2024), with 2 industrial plants of more than 200 t/h combined.
  • Co-founded Redesign Lab in 2021 and was COO of Cotton Nation and Neofibers, with capital from NESsT, Lululemon, Beneficial Returns and IDB Lab.
  • Regenerative agriculture framework for more than 2,000 farmers, with the first Regenagri certification in the country.
  • Investment readiness with NESsT AmazonBeEco, Qallariy and CODESPA, and Director of Innovation of Climathon Peru.
  • Operator of the CCE Hub Peru, with Universidad del Pacífico.
Source: PVBLIC Foundation, COP16 and the CCE Hub PeruSource: ImpactAlpha, Cotton NationSource: NESsT, Cotton Nation in its portfolio

Countries with projects, programmes or stages. Green: Latin America, the operating base. Ochre: outside the region.

Investable bio-businesses, for whom?

Each type of capital asks for a different proof

A business is never ready for investment in general. It is ready for a specific type of capital, with its own thesis and its own questions. I have worked on all 5 rungs, from the company side and from the funder side. Knowing which rung a company is on saves months of conversations with the wrong funder.

Read the full answer
River in the mist of the Amazon rainforest
  1. 01Seed capitalSeedIts thesis: Bets on a team and a real problem before there are stable sales.What the company proves: A problem validated with customers, a team able to execute and a use-of-funds plan with milestones.
  2. 02Working capitalWorking capitalIts thesis: Finances the cycle between buying from producers and getting paid by the customer. It is repaid by the same sale.What the company proves: Purchase orders or contracts, a known cash cycle and a repayment track record.
  3. 03DebtDebtIts thesis: Lends over a term against predictable cash flow, at a fixed return.What the company proves: Positive or near-positive cash flow, known unit margins and reasonable collateral.
  4. 04Blended financeBlended capitalIts thesis: Combines philanthropic, concessional and commercial capital so that each takes the risk it can bear.What the company proves: Measurable impact, a first-loss tranche and a path for commercial capital.
  5. 05Fund equityEquityIts thesis: Buys a stake in the company because it expects it to be worth several times more.What the company proves: Unit economics that improve with scale, corporate governance, clean due diligence and a credible exit.

Panels, councils and recent forums

Deeptech Reloaded panel at UTEC, with Lorenzo Ortiz on stage
Panel «Deeptech Reloaded», Deeptech Meetup, UTEC, Lima, 2025
Panel on the CEIBA Summit stage, with Lorenzo Ortiz
Panel «The Future of Bioproducts and Biomaterials», CEIBA Open Forum, Cali, 2025
Lorenzo Ortiz at a workshop on real costs with producers
Unit economics and circular economy with cocoa and coffee producers, with CODESPA
Lorenzo Ortiz giving a talk with a microphone
Talk on the circular economy, CITEagroindustrial Huaura, 2026
See talks and stages

Who I have worked with

Companies, funders, programmes and universities in Latin America, Europe and the United States.

Industry
TASA (Tecnológica de Alimentos S.A.)Grupo GloriaPesquera DiamantePesquera HaydukCopeincaMAZINSA (Maz Industrial S.A. de C.V., Grupo PINSA, Mazatlán)
6
Cooperation, multilaterals and public sector
Grupo BIDBID LabBID InvestGIZAECIDSwisscontactGreen Climate FundCODESPAAyuda en Acción (Qallariy Aceleradora)Ministerio de la Producción (PRODUCE)PNIPAProInnóvate (Start-up Perú)Ministerio del Ambiente del PerúPromPerú
14
Funds and impact investing
NESsTBeneficial ReturnsWyss Academy for NatureConservación InternacionalWWFAmazonia Impact Ventures (AIV)
6
Academia and programmes
MITCATIEUTECUniversidad Nacional de TrujilloUniversidad de BernaBern University of Applied Sciences (BFH)Singularity UniversityGRIDXIMDTecnológico de MonterreyUniversity of the Arts LondonFIT, State University of New York
12
Ecosystem, networks and events
EIT Climate-KIC (Climathon)CEIBANaturaTech LACC MindsGET Forum (Grupo BID)PVBLIC FoundationCleantechHUBRegenerative Organic AllianceRegenagriImpactAlphaeleaSociedad Nacional de IndustriasADEX
13

What I build

Initiatives I co-founded with Eddie Ajalcriña, each with its own website.

Redesign LabCo-founder and Director of InnovationDesigns and scales bio-businesses in Latin America. Part of the Claude Partner Network and operator of the CCE Hub Peru.redesignlab.orgFondo de ImpactoCo-founder and COOWorking capital for companies with a repayment track record, and an Investment Passport that reaches more than 50 funds.fondodeimpacto.peBio Business SchoolCo-author of the Bio Business PlaybookPlaybooks and training to design bio-businesses that sell and can be financed.biobusinessschool.orgBio/BuildersProgramme design and access to capitalA programme to scale bio-businesses: tools, field workshops, mentoring and access to capital.See the programme
Lorenzo Ortiz reviewing cocoa beans with a producer at a collection centre
More than 5 years of work in the field, across the Amazon and the Andes of Latin America.

Talk topics

01Investable bio-businesses, for whom?Each type of capital asks for something different. Being investment-ready means being ready for a specific capital.
02From the field to the investment committeeWhat an operator sees in a business plan: unit economics, harvest cash flow and capacity.
03Scaling bio-businesses in the fieldLogistics, supply and quality with fragmented smallholder producers.
04The order of capitalBlended finance and nature finance, layer by layer.
05AI as a second pair of eyesAgents that challenge cash flow and go-to-market assumptions before a committee does.
06Sustainability in industry, by the numbersWaste, water and energy prioritised by return.
See the topics and the agenda

Where this work appears

Media, organisations and forums that name this work or describe the projects I took part in.

Naming Lorenzo

PVBLIC FoundationPanel at the Peru Pavilion, COP16, Cali, 2024pvblic.orgFondo de ImpactoTeam, Investment Passport and direct financingfondodeimpacto.peAmazonBio Business Playbook, Vol. 1: Diseñoamazon.comAmazonPlaybook Circular LatAmamazon.comEddie AjalcriñaCo-authorship and shared projectseddieajalcrina.com

Projects and programmes

EIT Climate-KICClimathon CATAL1.5°T in Latin Americaclimate-kic.orgNESsTCotton Nation in its portfolioes.nesst.orgImpactAlphaCapital for regenerative cotton in the Peruvian Amazonimpactalpha.comGRIDXTRANSFORM programmegridexponential.comNESsTAmazonBeEco, companies across the Pan-Amazonnesst.orgLa Nota EconómicaCEIBA Summit 2025 and its Councillanotaeconomica.com.coForbes ArgentinaExponential Inception, Singularity Universityforbesargentina.comCity of MedellínClimate Week Biodiversity 2026medellin.gov.coAnthropicClaude Partner Networkanthropic.com
See all sources

Newsletter on Substack

Del potencial al capital

Impact investing in Latin America, one case a month (in Spanish). Each issue covers a bio-business, an instrument or a lesson from the region, with its numbers, free to read.

Aerial view of a river winding through the Amazon rainforest
A river in the Amazon, aerial view.

Let’s talk

For programmes, partnerships, talks, interviews or conversations about scaling and financing bio-businesses in Latin America. I read every message.

Reason
I only use your data to reply to this message.