GLOCAL 2024 challenge picks two winners to ‘drive systemic change’ across Latin America’s food system

Winners of GLOCAL‘s latest pitch day highlight the promise of AI, data science and fintech in kickstarting change across Latin America’s agrifoodtech landscape.

GLOCAL, a Latin America-based agrifoodtech acceleration and investment fund as well as a certified B Corp, holds its Game Changers competition each year for startups at pre-seed, seed and series A stages. The idea is to connect startups and corporations to better combat food security and climate change, and to help make Latin America a hub for global agrifoodtech innovation.

Argentina-based Calice, which leverages AI and data science to speed up characterization and commercialization of new crops, and Mexican agrifintech platform Blooms were selected as winners from a pool of more than 500 applicants.

Calice says its system is capable of analyzing and integrating millions of data points that characterize a crop, reducing time and money and increasing success rates for new crop varieties.

Bloom’s all-in-one financial platform simplifies the process of obtaining capital and getting payments in the fresh produce industry.

“These two companies were chosen not only for their technological advancements but also for their potential to drive systemic change across the Agrifoodtech landscape in Latin America,” GLOCAL noted in a press statement. 

“It’s promising to see entrepreneurs not only building good solutions but also understanding market needs and translating that future into concrete, scalable solutions today,” added Florencia Solari, host of the pitch event and an investment officer at GLOCAL LatAm.

‘Clear and impactful solutions’ for Latin America agrifoodtech

One of the world’s most biodiverse regions, Latin America is rich in natural resources including farmland. Simultaneously, its farmers — most of them smallholders — struggle with inefficient supply chains, access to financing and the ability to implement technologies that might alleviate such difficulties.

More and more, startups are emerging from this area with ideas and tools that address these issues. GLOCAL’s own portfolio reflects that: it counts agribusiness marketplace platform Agrofy, water conservation startup Kilimo, and biologicals company Puna Bio among the companies it supports.

“Seeing entrepreneurs with clear and impactful solutions is the first big step toward widespread adoption of agrifoodtech technologies. The future is promising if we keep moving in this direction,” notes GLOCAL LatAm’s Managing Partner, Bernardo Milesy.

The GLOCAL Game Changers program is also designed to address challenges in the Latam agrifood system, connecting startups with experts, mentors and potential advisors, and enabling applicants to access up to $500,000 in investment.

In 2024, the list of finalists (see below) included startups working in gene editing, biotech, climate tech, precision farming and farm management, and ag insurance, among other areas.

“It’s amazing to see such well-developed proposals and entrepreneurial spirit in LatAm’s Agrifoodtech space,” says Martín Burlo, corporate venturing director at Surcos and one of the Game Changers judges. “GLOCAL’s meticulous curation has brought us here, creating a platform where these startups can truly shine and showcase their potential.”

GLOCAL Game Changers finalists 2024: