Credit Agricole
Credit Agricole is one of Europe's largest banking groups, founded in 1894, whose water investing runs through several arms rather than one fund. Its Supernova Invest deeptech platform, regional bank innovation funds, and Grameen Credit Agricole impact foundation have together backed 7 water companies across 8 deals, rated Anchor by (don't) Waste Water as of 2026.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Credit Agricole does not run a water fund, and that is the first thing to understand about it. Europe's largest cooperative banking group reaches water the way a 2.5 trillion dollar institution reaches anything: through many doors at once, never a single front one.
Credit Agricole's water bets cluster in three places. Its deeptech venture platform Supernova Invest, co-founded with France's atomic-energy commission, chases the hard-science and agri-tech frontier. The innovation funds of its regional mutual banks write the local cheques, such as Credit Agricole Alpes Provence into the pipe-inspection robotics company ACWA Robotics. And across the wider portfolio sit names like the electrode maker Anodine, the soil-moisture sensor firm Finapp and the simulation-software company Cosmo Tech. Its impact arm reaches the far other end of the spectrum entirely.
Credit Agricole's impact arm is the Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation, which has backed the solar water-kiosk operator Oshun across Senegal and Burkina Faso since 2018. As of January 2025 the foundation went further, launching with partners the Women Empowerment for Climate fund, which aims to raise 100 million dollars for clean water, clean energy and climate-resilient farming led by women. It is the clearest signal of where the group's water money is heading.
Across all these doors Credit Agricole has backed 7 water companies across 8 deals, from seed to Series B, and has yet to lead a round, arriving instead as the patient balance-sheet partner alongside specialists like Bpifrance and Sofinnova. For a bank built in 1894 to lend to French farmers, water is simply agriculture's oldest dependency, finally showing up on the investment side of the house.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 7 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- Does Credit Agricole invest in water?
- Credit Agricole invests in water in several ways. Its deeptech fund Supernova Invest backs water and agri-tech startups, its regional banks fund local innovators, and its Grameen impact foundation supports drinking-water access in Africa. In all, the group has backed 7 water companies across 8 deals.
- Is Credit Agricole a venture capital firm?
- No. Credit Agricole is a full-service cooperative banking group, not a venture capital firm. Its startup investing happens through dedicated arms such as the deeptech platform Supernova Invest, the innovation funds of its regional banks, and the Grameen Credit Agricole impact foundation, rather than one central fund.
- What water companies has Credit Agricole invested in?
- Credit Agricole's water portfolio includes the pipe-inspection robotics firm ACWA Robotics, soil-moisture sensor maker Finapp, crop-biostimulant company Elicit Plant, and the social water ventures Oshun and Fonto de Vivo. These span industrial, agricultural and drinking-water needs across France, Italy and West Africa.
- Who runs investing at Credit Agricole?
- Credit Agricole's investing sits across its asset manager Amundi and its venture and impact arms. At Amundi, Jean-Jacques Barbéris oversees ESG and institutional clients, Claire Chabrier leads direct private-markets investing, and Valérie Baudson is chief executive. The group's water deals run mainly through Supernova Invest and regional banks.
- Where is Credit Agricole based?
- Credit Agricole is headquartered in Montrouge, just south of Paris, France. Founded in 1894 as a network of agricultural credit banks, it is now one of Europe's largest banking groups, serving more than 50 million customers through retail, corporate, insurance and asset-management businesses.