LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Grounded Investment Company, an impact investment cooperative working with Africa’s farmers to help them transition to regenerative agriculture
As the co-founder of Grounded, Thekla Teunis brings a strategic edge to the company’s sustainable agri-business initiatives. Grounded Investment Company is an impact investment cooperative started in 2021, that concentrates on a key leverage point in the food system: the processing industry. After completing a Master of Mathematics, she went on to consult for McKinsey in Amsterdam. A cycling trip through Vietnam opened her eyes to the possibilities of farming in harmony with nature and in 2014 she moved to South Africa to pursue work in sustainable agriculture. Together with Gijs, Thekla drives investor relations and strategy for the Grounded Investment Company. She is now based in the Netherlands with her partner and young daughter.
Lioness Weekender spoke to the inspirational Thekla Teunis about her entrepreneurial motivation, her impact-driven mission at Grounded, and her ambitions for the business.
What does your company do?
Grounded Investment Company is an impact investment cooperative that concentrates on a key leverage point in the food system: the processing industry. Processing companies are well-positioned in the value chain, with the economic heft to generate tangible impact for thousands of farmers. We are backed by a growing group of investors who are equally committed to transforming the food system.
What inspired you to start your company?
Since 2014, I have been working on the African continent with farmers to make regenerative agriculture work. With my team, I realized that the only way to take this to scale, is to take a systemic approach and invest in the value chain - companies that buy produce from thousands of small-scale farmers. Previously, we have built these agri-businesses ourselves, from scratch. We figured we can have more impact faster if we work together with existing entrepreneurs, and support them with capital, regenerative agriculture knowledge and in some cases access to other markets.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We are not a typical fund manager - we have very deep knowledge and experience in working with farmers to help them transition to regenerative agriculture. We have our own R&D farm in Zambia, where we perform experiments with innovative methods which can then be transferred across the companies in our portfolio if successful. We also have deep experience in bringing products to (premium) buyers all over Europe and the US.
Tell us a little about your team:
Most of our team members are based where our operations are - we have offices in Kenya, South Africa and the Netherlands. The majority of our team supports the companies we work with - either with strategy, financial management, regenerative agriculture, market strategies, or legal advice. We have two team members in the Netherlands (including myself) focusing mostly on investor relations.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I am somebody who always walks around with a number of business ideas. When I look around me, I see many opportunities to build something new. I started an NGO whilst I was a student - one that focused on building bridges between privileged students and underprivileged youth. Most of my ideas come from 'issues' which I see in society. I am not somebody who gets passionate about making money - I am driven by solving societal issues which I see. I think indeed I am a real entrepreneur in that sense - I could not really imagine myself in a corporate structure anymore. I tried that for a very brief period, but I never really lasted more than 2 years at a company ;-). Those structures are too prohibitive for me.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
We want to grow our investment fund to build up a portfolio of around 30 companies. I think that will allow us to really make a demonstrable case that agriculture and agribusiness can be done differently. It can be done with care: care for the environment, and care for people. The current system is anonymous and actually care-less: it is focused on extraction of resources. I find that soul-destroying. We are trying to show that you can bring these systems back into balance; to make people thrive and soils brimming with life again. Our biggest success indicator is when we see farmers making more money - and being able to use that money in improving their own situation - in whatever way they decide to do so. We are starting to see signs of this already - and if we are successful, we will see much, much more of it in the near future.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Definitely our team. I am very lucky to be part of an incredible team. I think the most amazing thing is to see people grow with our organization. For instance, our Head of Finance started off as a bookkeeper with us in 2016 and developed herself tremendously. Our legal counsel is now becoming part of our management team, and COO of the group. A former ecologist trained herself to become one of our best investment managers, with a strong understanding of financials and business structuring. I think this is just amazing - combined with a great spirit amongst the team, and positive work culture. I always think this is the one thing as an entrepreneur you have most control over: the way you deal with your team.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Just do it! The advice I give most often is to just start something. Not think too much. Do not go into a workshop for 5 days to create a vision and mission statement - you can write those a year or two years later. You learn by doing - this will allow you to finetune your model as you go along. The best lessons are from mistakes. So don't be afraid. And go with what you are super passionate about - what speaks to your heart. You will need passion to keep going ;-)
To find out more about the work of Grounded, contact Thekla Teunis via email: thekla@grounded.co.za or visit the company’s website: http://www.groundedinvestmentcompany.com
