SWEN Terra Advances Regenerative Agriculture with €125m Raised

Horizom is the fund’s second investment announced since GreenPods.

Founded in 2022 and led by Stéphane Alzaix (a bamboo specialist), Christophe Downey (a former finance professional who previously worked at Société Générale) and Dimitri Guyot (an engineer), Horizom is developing a French bamboo value chain. Its ambition is built around three complementary pillars: biomass production, particularly for the biomaterials market, carbon sequestration, and agricultural diversification.

The company, which employs sixteen permanent staff and around twenty seasonal workers, supports farmers in the establishment and operation of bamboo plantations while structuring an integrated value chain with industrial partners. Its objective is to secure a local supply of bamboo fibre for French SMEs developing biomaterials, particularly for the construction sector, such as bio-based insulation materials.

As a perennial crop, bamboo contributes to soil restoration, promotes biodiversity, does not require the use of pesticides, and enables farmers to diversify their income streams. Its fibre also provides a renewable alternative to more carbon-intensive materials used in construction.

Beyond its environmental impact, Horizom’s business model also has a strong social dimension, creating skilled jobs in local communities while supporting the development of expertise among its employees and agricultural partners.

Since its creation in 2022, Horizom has experienced sustained growth. The company has already supported around fifteen farmers in the establishment of nearly 460 hectares of bamboo plantations.

Through this 10 M€ partnership, Horizom aims to scale up its operations by accelerating the deployment of its plantations, strengthening its teams, and continuing to structure a French bamboo value chain serving the biomaterials sector.

Just over a year after its launch, SWEN Terra is confirming the momentum of its strategy.

The fund continues to build a diversified investment pipeline, with around ten opportunities currently at various stages of assessment in France, Spain and Italy. These projects span several segments of regenerative agriculture, including orchards, market gardening, perennial crops and processing infrastructure, illustrating SWEN Terra’s deliberately agnostic approach, which prioritises projects capable of restoring agricultural ecosystems regardless of the crops involved.

To support its growth, the investment team continues to expand and now consists of four professionals, with the arrival of Loïse Desailly as Senior Analyst in early September. In addition, all projects under review are assessed by an impact committee composed of independent experts.