Cellular agriculture & emerging markets: Just because we can, does it mean we should?
Cellular agriculture startups aim to solve agrifood’s biggest sustainability problems. But smallholders must be part of the solution, writes Saron Berhane.
Cellular agriculture startups aim to solve agrifood’s biggest sustainability problems. But smallholders must be part of the solution, writes Saron Berhane.
They’ll work together on The Yield LatAm Opportunity Fund, a new vehicle which will invest in roughly 30 companies in the region over the next five years.
The 20-week program, backed by AgFunder, provides agrifoodtech startups with support to scale up and create lasting global change.
The Shanghai-based firm has also signed Adisseo, Temasek, and UAE government-linked investor ADQ as LPs for its new China-focused fund.
It leans on the community group-buying model popularized in China, allowing consumers to form teams in order to make bulk buys on its platform.
Pre- and post-production supply chain processes are already the main contributor to agrifood-related GHG emissions in advanced economies, a new study says.
“We’ve spent the money to take the R&D risk away” for vertical farm operators, IGS’s David Farquhar says on the sidelines of COP26.
Green Rebel Cheeze is made is from “locally and sustainably sourced” cashew, potato, and rice, according to the Jakarta-based startup.
The Bangkok-based startup makes pet food products out of black soldier fly larvae, feeding them “a diet from pre-consumed food waste” and other “food surpluses.”
The Melbourne-based startup has combined an easy-to-use handheld scanner with machine learning analytics to make non-destructive fruit testing and future quality predictions as easy as picking up cheap mangoes in summer.
The US fresh produce platform will use the funds to “turbocharge our software and services growth and extend our e-commerce reach from coast to coast,” said CEO Mike Xu.
It links suppliers and buyers of fresh produce across the country, opening up more buy and sell opportunities while also facilitating timely payments.
The category includes cell-cultured meat, plant-based analogs, fermented and fungi-based proteins, functional foods, and other novel ingredients.
M&A activity was concentrated in the US, which hosted over half of all deals – with Europe and Asia Pacific accounting for 19% and 11% respectively.
Growthwell said it’s working on “a new collection of seafood and chicken alternatives aimed at the growing number of flexitarians” across Asia.
Don’t forget to register for the GROW Impact Accelerator’s virtual Demo Day taking place next week.
The Nigerian startup’s goal is two-fold: to offer affordable meat alternatives to African consumers, and to match local taste and texture preferences.
It aims to take the manual labor out of the ag commodities inspection process using computer vision, machine learning, and IoT.
The Singapore-based startup secured the Series A funding from Exfinity Venture Partners, pi Ventures, and AgFunder, among others.
The Canadian startup is hoping to give aquaculture farmers a boost by floating them cash while they wait 30-90 days for payment from buyers.