Mirova, a sustainable investment firm backed by corporate partners including Kering, has announced a $30.5 million investment in Varaha. The Indian climate-tech company, founded in 2022, develops nature-based carbon removal projects across South Asia. Varaha specializes in regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, and biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More.

The investment is notable for its structure. Rather than a traditional equity stake, the deal is a project finance agreement based on carbon credit revenue sharing. Mirova provides the upfront capital to scale Varaha’s “Kheti” soil carbon project, and in return, will receive a share of the resulting carbon credits.

This funding is earmarked to expand Varaha’s work with smallholder farmers in northern India, particularly in the Haryana and Punjab states. The project aims to transition over 337,000 farmers across 675,000 hectares to regenerative practices. These methods include reduced tillage, direct seeding of rice, and using machinery to incorporate crop residue back into the soil, which provides a critical alternative to seasonal stubble burning.

Varaha’s platform emphasizes robust Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV). The company uses a digital platform for real-time monitoring of both climate and social co-benefits. This system generates high-integrity carbon credits, which are being verified under Verra’s VM0042 methodology for agricultural land management.

This significant investment signals a growing institutional confidence in scalable, verifiable carbon projects. It provides Varaha with the necessary capital to deploy equipment and training, helping farmers improve soil health and climate resilience while generating a new, verified income stream from carbon markets.