Hong Kong based private credit manager ADM Capital has closed its blended finance vehicle, the Asia Climate smart Landscapes Fund (ACLF), at $48 million after two and a half years of fundraising, well short of its original $200 million target. Managing director Ben Falloon described the process as an “exceptionally challenging fundraising environment” for a first time fund focused on a single emerging market, Indonesia. Despite falling short, ADM called the outcome a strong foundation and is already planning a successor fund with an expanded Southeast Asia mandate.
ACLF finances Indonesian agricultural, aquacultural, and agroforestry businesses that aggregate supply from smaller producers. The fund drew a mix of institutional investors, development finance partners, foundations, and family offices. Notably, the final close included $8 million from Australian Development Investments (ADI), a A$250 million fund of funds affiliated with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and managed by impact investment firm Sarona Asset Management. Alongside ADI, Australian philanthropic capital, including the Minderoo Foundation, Paul Ramsay Foundation, and LEEAF Trust, committed a further $8.65 million through the ADI Climate Partners feeder vehicle managed by Ecotone Partners.
Minderoo’s Regina Rao explained the deal came through DFAT’s International Development Investor Group, a network of Australian family offices and foundations that share pipeline on Southeast Asian impact opportunities. Ecotone’s Dan Madhaven noted that Indonesian private credit is unfamiliar territory for most Australian investors, which is why the capital stack was structured with layered risk protection: a first loss layer (ADI Climate Partners), a commercial layer, and DFAT’s own capital, plus a 50 percent asset level guarantee from the US International Development Finance Corporation. Earlier ACLF backers include Ceniarth, RS Group, the Packard and MacArthur Foundations, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, and Calvert Impact Capital. The article situates the raise against broader agri food and impact fundraising data, showing impact focused capital remains a small, volatile slice of the sector.
