Feb 29, 2024

Southwest Florida venture capital initiative to help ag

A venture capital initiative launched in southwest Florida plans to focus on agricultural and AgTech investments.

In a move heralded as a first of its kind, “Cap Table Nation” is a group of a dozen tools engineered to interest investors and their money.

Designed by Gingras Global, Cap Table Nation’s infrastructure is set to etch its mark on local investment history, devoted to fostering growth and community development, according to a news release.

The effort signifies a commitment to investing in the region, sparking positive change across Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, Glades, and Sarasota Counties. Cap Table Nation is designed impact diverse industries, including agriculture, water quality, tourism and skilled trade, according to the release.

“Committed to uniting like-minded individuals in an alliance for doing good, the launch of this groundbreaking infrastructure is now taking place in the vibrant community of Southwest Florida,” Gingras Global officials said in the release. “This launch begins a transformative era in private capital investment, inviting positive business change for the communities of Southwest Florida.”

Gene McAvoy, an ag consultant and associate director for stakeholder relations at the University of Florida’s IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, Florida, was quoted in a television news report on the benefits the fund could provide.

“When you look at all the indirect employment effects across the United States and in Florida, it generates about 20% of the jobs out there,” McAvoy said in the report. “It’s not only farmers and farm workers – it’s truck drivers, it’s people that manufacture goods from agricultural products, it’s restaurants and hotels that prepare and serve food. So, agriculture is pretty wide reaching.”

Emphasizing the “transformative potential of technological innovations in agriculture,” McAvoy also commented how “Anything we can do to reduce the manual stoop labor involved with agriculture or make labor more efficient by incorporating machines and computers into the process, the more efficient and effective agriculture becomes.”

Cap Table Nation’s infrastructure will house the first two groundbreaking venture capital funds, marking a significant milestone in the region’s economic landscape. The Florida Growth Opportunity Fund, Southwest, is strategically focused on creating and nurturing companies in pre-seed, seed, or early stages of development. Engage Florida Ventures, Southwest, is geared towards supporting companies at all stages, including mature companies, fostering their growth to a scale that ensures a long-term presence in the region. The capital raise for these two funds will start in late February.

“In an area where venture capital has not been formally activated, support tools are needed to make sure the venture capital funds have the best chance for success. Cap Table Nation provides those tools not only for the first two venture capital funds to invest here in Southwest Florida, but for other funds that want to invest here,” Gingras Global president Natalie Hazen said in the release.

Founded in 2011, Gingras Global is an investment support services firm based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, that works to guide entrepreneurs and investors committed to achieving positive business impact and financial success. Cap Table Nation is an infrastructure catalyst for positive change in private capital investment.

Read more about the effort here.