A new financial platform has been launched to help institutional investors allocate capital to a $10trn (€8.62trn) natural asset market by converting assets such as forests and farmland into regulated, tradable securities.
Financial technology company Ridge is seeking to transform natural assets into regulated, ISIN-listed, investment-grade securities, a move that will for the first time allow investors to access natural assets in the same easy way they invest in bonds or equities.
Ridge, which estimates the size of the global natural asset market at $9trn to $10trn, said the structural barrier to connecting natural assets to capital markets is not demand.
According to the firm, more than 90% of institutional investors plan to allocate to the sector by 2030, but existing routes remain fragmented, illiquid and operationally complex.
The platform applies a standardised origination, validation, structuring, distribution and monitoring stack to natural assets, converting them to regulated financial products with ISIN identifiers, embedded financial and environmental due diligence, and reporting aligned to SFDR and EU Taxonomy requirements.
Ridge, which is backed by MENA-based operator-led venture builder Disrupt.com, said it has already demonstrated proof of concept by issuing four regulated financial products under European financial regulation.
The inaugural product was a bond backed by a Canadian forest, while partnerships are already in place with three German banks and two alternative asset platforms for distribution. The company added that it has an active pipeline of over $100m in global natural asset projects currently under structuring.
Ridge said it had also closed an oversubscribed $2m pre-seed round backed by Disrupt.com, E4E and two strategic angel investors. The proceeds will drive platform development, expand distribution capabilities and support the scaling of its regulated infrastructure.
Sascha Breuss, Ridge founder, said: “For the first time, investors can access forests and other natural assets in the same way they buy a bond or any other financial product. Natural assets are among the most important foundations of the global economy, yet they have remained largely disconnected from capital markets.
“Ridge is building the missing infrastructure to change that – making a sustainably managed forest in Canada or a regenerative rubber plantation in Guatemala as easy to access as any other security: regulated, transparent and impact-verified products that enable institutional investment in natural assets at scale.”
Aaqib Gadit, founding partner, Disrupt.com, said: “At Disrupt.com, we build and back the infrastructure that powers the future of finance. Ridge has built the bridge between natural assets and global capital markets, turning a historically inaccessible market into an investable asset class.
“With four regulated products already live, Ridge is becoming foundational infrastructure for the next generation of financial markets, where returns and real assets converge.”
Frederik Gerner, co-founder and partner at E4E, said: “At E4E, we back exceptional entrepreneurs solving meaningful global challenges with scalable business models.
“Ridge combines a highly compelling market opportunity with a clear vision and execution capability. We strongly believe that nature-based investing will become one of the defining investment themes of the coming decades.”
To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
