Munich Startup: Who are you and what does Pacifico do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Martin Siddiqui, Pacifico: We are Dr. Martin Siddiqui (Co-CEO), 37 years old. He studied economics (Diploma) at the University of Mannheim and received his doctorate (Dr. rer. pol.) from Zeppelin University. Formerly with JP Morgan in Frankfurt.
And Christoph Strasser (Co-CEO), 30 years old, holds a B.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim. He holds a M.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim and the ESSEC Business School. Formerly with JP Morgan in Frankfurt.
We know each other from our time at JP Morgan, where we decided to take on the professional challenge of building Pacifico Renewables Yield AG together. Over the years, we've become good friends, and our trusting relationship proved particularly helpful during the start-up phase.
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Martin Siddiqui: We make investing in renewable energies easy and offer small and medium-sized project developers a Platform for the capital marketThrough partnerships with developers, expensive and scarce development capital is to be recycled more quickly so that it can be invested in new development projects. This represents our contribution to accelerating the energy transition.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Martin Siddiqui: We would know. To our knowledge, there is no company yet that provides a platform for the capital market and works exclusively with international project developers.
A very early IPO
Munich Startup: What have been your three biggest challenges so far?
Martin Siddiqui: 1. Since our business model is essentially based on regularly raising capital, we decided to go public very early. This was the right step, but it was a very labor-intensive one. Becoming a listed company so early is a complex undertaking. There are significantly higher disclosure requirements, and we aspire to set standards in transparent capital market communication.
2. Our first capital increase took place during the first lockdown. This made things a bit more difficult. The initial schedule was disrupted, and many investors had other concerns than our capital increase. In the end, we were still able to place more shares than planned and attract interesting investors to our company.
3. Team building in times of coronavirus. Fortunately, we were able to recruit many great talents. However, the personal interaction, especially for newcomers, was still missing.
Pacifico has taken the step to a global platform
Munich Startup: How are things going?
Martin Siddiqui: Good. We recently completed the acquisition of a 14.1 MW solar farm in the Netherlands by retaining cash flows from our operating portfolio. We also signed the purchase agreement for a 51.8 MW wind farm in Poland. In addition, with our fourth partnership, which we recently entered into with an Australian developer, we have taken the step to a global platform, expanding our pipeline to 3.1 GW.
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
Martin Siddiqui: Exclusively positive. The location has a strong appeal for talented individuals, especially its proximity to Technical University of Munich is a competitive advantage for us, especially in the area of battery storage, which we are intensively involved in. Furthermore, Munich's startup scene is growing enormously, offering an exciting network and an attractive place to live with many opportunities outside of work.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Martin Siddiqui: Security. Our business model is based on stable and predictable cash flows from renewable energy investments.
