We’re proud to share that Martha De Sá, founder of Lab alum Violet, was recently featured in The NBS Monthly Investment Newsletter by Capital for Climate. Highlighted as a promising nature-based solution, Violet is advancing sustainable agroforestry systems that support biodiversity, restore degraded land, and generate equitable economic opportunities for local communities in Latin America. Their innovative approach integrates native species and regenerative practices to build climate resilience while delivering measurable environmental and social outcomes. This recognition underscores the impact of Lab-supported initiatives in driving climate innovation and catalyzing investment in nature-positive ventures. Find the full interview below.

Q: Why did you found Violet? What was the spark behind your vision—and what problem are you most focused on solving?

A: I founded Violet after witnessing a critical disconnect in the climate finance space during my time at VERT. While we successfully mobilized over $11 billion across 285 deals, I saw how traditional financial markets consistently overlooked nature-based solutions, particularly those benefiting small-scale producers and communities at the forefront of environmental stewardship.The spark came during COP26, where it became clear that despite growing global interest in nature-based solutions, there was a fundamental infrastructure gap preventing capital from reaching high-impact projects on the ground in Brazil. Financial institutions were eager to invest in nature but lacked the mechanisms to do so effectively.Violet is solving this “missing middle” problem—building the financial infrastructure to connect institutional capital to local implementation at scale. Today, most impact investing flows from large institutional investors to large corporations, systematically excluding smaller stakeholders. Those excluded from traditional financial systems are also excluded from these new financial flows, creating a vicious cycle. We’re breaking this cycle by focusing on financial inclusion, economic development, and conservation simultaneously—it’s a win-win-win model that we deeply believe in.

Q: Violet is operating in areas like agroforestry, sustainable livestock, and restoration. How do you think about building a pipeline that delivers real impact, while also meeting investor expectations for scale and risk-adjusted returns?

A: Pipeline development is perhaps the most challenging aspect of what we do, but it’s where our unique approach creates value. We start with identifying high-potential areas where environmental impact aligns with economic opportunity—like the Kawá Sustainable Cocoa Fund that will finance 1,500 smallholder farmers across Bahia and Pará. A critical element of our strategy is our partnership approach. We don’t originate producers one by one—that would be inefficient and unscalable. Instead, we always work with anchor aggregator partners who already have established relationships with producers. These partners provide the crucial local connection and trust, while we bring the financial expertise and technology platform. Our approach balances impact and returns by focusing on financial structures that make sense for both sides of the equation. While blended finance has an important role in the early stages to build a track record in this market, our goal is to develop models that become less dependent on concessional capital as the market matures and becomes more scalable. Our technology platform significantly reduces transaction costs by streamlining everything from loan origination and underwriting to monitoring. This creates efficiency that makes smaller, distributed projects collectively viable at institutional scale, which is essential since many of the highest-impact opportunities exist at the community level.

Q: What’s been the biggest challenge in building Violet so far—has anything surprised you?

A: The biggest challenge has been simultaneously building both sides of the marketplace—preparing high-quality projects while developing appropriate financial vehicles for investors. What makes this particularly difficult is that we’re constantly translating between completely different worlds.
We’re speaking multiple languages simultaneously—communicating with producers and technical assistance teams in rural areas (often with limited connectivity and literacy challenges), while also engaging with corporations that have their own priorities and language, and investors who speak yet another dialect altogether. This isn’t about silos or unwillingness to collaborate—it’s more about the need for translation and bridging knowledge gaps. Each stakeholder comes with their own expertise and perspective, but often lacks understanding of the others’ realities. Our role is to serve as translators and facilitators, creating common ground for collaboration. I’ve also been surprised by how much patience this work requires. Everyone wants quick results, but meaningful transformation of land use and financial systems takes time. Finding the right balance between urgent action and sustainable change is an ongoing challenge.

Q: You’ve emphasized collaboration and simplicity as part of Violet’s DNA. What role do partnerships and enabling environments play in scaling nature finance in Brazil?

A: Partnerships aren’t just important—they’re absolutely essential. No single organization can solve the complex challenges of scaling nature finance. Our model depends on strategic collaborations across the entire ecosystem: from producers and communities on the ground to corporations, financial institutions, and conservation organizations. The simplicity aspect might seem counterintuitive in this market. There’s a tendency to create complexity, thinking it generates more security and rigor. But the real complexity lies in translating multiple layers into simple, effective actions. Perfect often becomes the enemy of good, and we need more practical cases happening without each one taking two years to get off the ground. It’s an evolutionary process when a new market is emerging. Beyond specific partnerships, enabling environments are critical for scale. This includes regulatory frameworks that recognize nature’s value, technical assistance networks that support implementation, and technology infrastructure for monitoring and verification. As Brazil prepares to host COP30, we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase how these enabling environments can accelerate nature finance globally.

Q: Where do you see the biggest opportunity for growth or innovation in the NbS space in the next 3–5 years?

A: Creating ecosystem-level financing approaches that go beyond individual projects to transform entire landscapes and sectors. We’re already seeing this with our work scaling from individual farms to regional initiatives like the Kawá Sustainable Cocoa Fund, which aims to reach R$1 billion by 2030.Technology will drive tremendous innovation—particularly in monitoring, reporting, and verification. The integration of satellite imagery, blockchain for traceability, and AI-powered analytics is making it possible to assess and verify impacts at previously impossible scales and costs. This unlocks entirely new asset classes and investment opportunities. I’m also excited about the convergence of biodiversity finance with carbon markets. As investors recognize the interconnectedness of climate and nature, we’ll see more sophisticated financial products that value multiple ecosystem services simultaneously. Brazil, with its unparalleled biodiversity and carbon sequestration potential, is perfectly positioned to lead this evolution.

Q: From your perspective, what’s the biggest unlock still needed to truly connect global capital to high-integrity, community-rooted NbS on the ground?

A: Standardization that doesn’t sacrifice local adaptation. Global capital requires consistency, transparency, and comparability across investments—yet the highest-integrity NbS are deeply rooted in local contexts and communities. We’re addressing this through frameworks that establish consistent measurement and verification protocols while allowing for adaptation to local ecological and social realities. This balanced approach is essential for maintaining both integrity and scalability. We also need to solve the aggregation challenge. Most institutional investors can’t effectively deploy capital in $1-5 million increments, yet that’s often the scale at which community-rooted projects operate. Building financial vehicles that can aggregate these smaller opportunities without losing their integrity or community connection is essential. The market also needs better infrastructure—from technology platforms to standardized contracts to impact measurement frameworks. Building this requires investment in public goods that benefit the entire ecosystem.

Lightning Round! ⚡ (All answers in one sentence or less)

If you could give one piece of advice to investors looking to enter this space, what would it be? “Partner strategically—success in nature finance comes through ecosystem collaboration, not solo efforts.”

The most overused buzzword in NbS? ““Regenerative” without specific metrics or outcomes.”

The most underrated opportunity in nature finance? “Financial inclusion—connecting smallholders and traditional communities to new sustainable finance mechanisms has transformational potential.”

A founder or project that inspires you? “Fernanda Camargo from Wright Capital, who has pioneered innovative investment approaches that merge wealth management expertise with genuine impact.”

Your biggest hope for the future of NbS?  “Mainstreaming—when nature becomes a standard asset class in every diversified portfolio, valued appropriately for all the benefits it provides.”