Agrifood Tech
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Climate Finance | November 22, 2021
Farmers Business Network rakes in $300 million to scale up agtech platform
ImpactAlpha, November 22 — Farmers Business Network has a network of over 33,000 farmers managing 80 million acres in North America and Australia. …
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Dealflow | November 4, 2021
Twiga Foods secures $50 million to supply informal retailers in Africa
ImpactAlpha, November 4 — Nairobi-based Twiga Foods is “building a one-stop-shop for informal retailers and all their needs,” says Twiga’s Peter Njonjo. The …
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Signals | November 3, 2021
Investments in agtech, fintech and climate tech can speed Kenya’s COVID recovery
ImpactAlpha, November 3 – Daily life is gradually returning to normal in Kenya 19 months into the pandemic. But businesses and jobs have …
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Dealflow | October 28, 2021
Dehaat secures $115 million Series D funding for continued expansion in India
ImpactAlpha, October 28 — More than half of India’s population are farmers. Gurgaon-based online marketplace Dehaat, launched in 2012, connects 650,000 Indian smallholder …
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Dealflow | October 18, 2021
Smallhold secures $25 million to grow organic mushrooms in local warehouses
ImpactAlpha, October 18 — Consumers are demanding locally-grown and climate-friendly food options. Brooklyn-based Smallhold is growing organic mushrooms in local warehouses for nearby …
Smallholder Agriculture | October 7, 2021
Tazah raises $2 million to connect Pakistan’s farmers to small food retailers
ImpactAlpha, October 7 – Tazah wants to streamline Pakistan’s $60 billion food supply chain and help farmers secure better prices by cutting out …
Agrifood Tech | October 5, 2021
Nuveen backs Do Good Foods with $169 million to turn grocery waste into animal feed
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 5 – Roughly 40% of fruit, vegetables and meats sold at grocery stores end up in landfills. The “closed loop” system of …
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Dealflow | September 29, 2021
Africa Eats crowdfunds capital to strengthen Africa’s food supply chains
ImpactAlpha, September 29 – Impact accelerator program Fledge last year launched Africa Eats to back promising startups in Africa that are strengthening the …
Agrifood Tech | September 14, 2021
Compound Foods raises $4.5 million to climate-proof your morning cup of Joe
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 15 – Can’t imagine a day without coffee? Neither can we. Climate change is wreaking havoc on coffee production. Fully half …
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Smallholder Agriculture | August 26, 2021
Robotics company TartanSense secures $5 million to help India’s farmers automate field tasks
ImpactAlpha, August 26 – Agriculture suffers from a worldwide labor shortage that has been exacerbated by the global pandemic. Bangalore-based TartanSense is developing …
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Climate Finance | August 25, 2021
Investing in climate-smart farms to accelerate the net-zero transition
In case you haven’t seen the headlines – or haven’t experienced the extreme weather events yourself – climate change is here. In the …
Dealflow | August 25, 2021
AgNext scores $21 million for sensors for Indian farmers
ImpactAlpha, August 25 – AgNext supports a network of sensors that monitors crop conditions to boost productivity and reduce losses (for context, see, …
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Climate and Clean Tech | August 16, 2021
Nitricity secures $5 million investment to electrify fertilizer production
ImpactAlpha, August 16 — San Francisco-based Nitricity is among a new crop of agtech ventures helping farmers break their reliance on synthetic nitrogen …
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Dealflow | August 11, 2021
Innomost secures €5 million to turn timber waste into cosmetics
ImpactAlpha, August 11 – Finnish company Innomost uses materials from sustainable forestry and timber operations to replace fossil fuels, plastics and palm oil …
Photo credit: 80 Acres Farms.
Climate Finance | August 11, 2021
80 Acres Farms raises $160 million to scale vertical farming
ImpactAlpha, August 11 — Vertical farming ventures are raking in capital on the promise of increased food security and decreased carbon emissions. One …
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Climate Finance | August 10, 2021
Australia’s v2Food raises $108 million Series B funding for global expansion
ImpactAlpha, August 10 — The plant-based protein producer offers alt-meat sausages, ground beef and patties. Investors included Belgian impact investor Astanor Ventures, which …
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Dealflow | August 9, 2021
South Africa’s Khula raises $1.4 million for farmer-focused marketplace
ImpactAlpha, August 9 – Johannesburg-based Khula is addressing inefficiencies in South Africa’s food chain by offering farmers access to financing, farming inputs and …
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2030 Finance | July 27, 2021
Chilean plant-based food producer NotCo raises $235 million
ImpactAlpha, July 27 — The Santiago-based company created Giuseppe, which uses artificial intelligence to identify plant-based ingredients as substitutes for animal-based products. Its …
Image credit: Nobell Foods Instagram (screenshot)
Agrifood Tech | July 23, 2021
Deaflow spotlight: Agrifood megadeals
ImpactAlpha, July 23 – Breakthrough biotech research is driving eight- and nine-digit investments in alternatives to high-carbon food production. Plant-based cheesemaker Nobell Foods, an …
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Dealflow | July 19, 2021
Pivot Bio rakes in $430 million to replace synthetic nitrogen in agriculture
ImpactAlpha, July 19 — Berkeley, Calif.-based biotech company Pivot Bio wants to make corn, wheat and rice – the world’s three biggest cereal …
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Dealflow | July 15, 2021
Indian agtech startups attract global investors
ImpactAlpha, July 15 — Entrepreneurs are aiming to streamline India’s $280 billion agriculture industry (see, “Digitization of smallholder farming draws investors to Indian …
Impact Tech | July 14, 2021
Two dozen charts map the trajectory of sustainable finance, food, energy and mobility
ImpactAlpha, July 14 – San Francisco and London-based Generation Investment Management, the $36 billion investment firm founded by Al Gore and David Blood, has for …
Agrifood Tech | July 7, 2021
Amid record heat, Equilibrium Capital raises $1 billion for second greenhouse fund
ImpactAlpha, July 7, 2021 – The heat wave made the case more starkly than could any investment pitch deck. In their offices in Portland, …
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Green Infrastructure | June 15, 2021
SupPlant raises $10 million for affordable irrigation for smallholder farmers
ImpactAlpha, June 15 — SupPlant‘s sensorless hardware collects real-time data on plants, soil and the climate conditions to help farmers make precise irrigation …
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Dealflow | May 25, 2021
ProducePay raises $43 million to build an inclusive supply chain for fresh produce
ImpactAlpha, May 25 — L.A.-based ProducePay launched in 2014 to bring transparency and fairness to the $300 billion fresh produce market. That supply …
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Agrifood Tech | May 24, 2021
TaniHub Group secures $65.5 million for its agtech platform in Indonesia
ImpactAlpha, May 24 — TaniHub Group launched in 2016 to help smallholder farmers in Indonesia reach more customers and grow their income. “There …
Photo credit: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News.
Dealflow | May 13, 2021
Kroger Innovation Fund and Village Capital to accelerate 10 food-tech startups
ImpactAlpha, May 13 — Halving U.S. food waste is a $14 billion annual investment opportunity. The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger Zero Waste Foundation, …
Photo credit: Reuters/Jean Bizimana photo.
Dealflow | May 12, 2021
CDC Group provides $100 million to help ETG connect smallholder farmers in Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 12 — CDC Group has committed $100 million in debt funding to agricultural commodities supplier ETG to expand its logistics networks …
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Catalytic Capital | May 6, 2021
MIT’s Solve Innovation Future fund makes four early-stage investments
ImpactAlpha, May 6 – Solve Innovation Future, the investment arm of MIT Solve, has committed $1 million to eight companies that were finalists in …
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Dealflow | May 3, 2021
Goodwell targets €50 million fund for small businesses and agriculture in Africa
ImpactAlpha, May 3 — Goodwell Investments is launching an impact fund to invest in African small businesses. The Dutch impact investment firm aims …
Climate Finance | April 26, 2021
Congruent Ventures raises $175 million for early-stage climate tech
ImpactAlpha, April 26 – Trillion-dollar green infrastructure plans and corporate net-zero pledges? “Fuel on the fire or, these days, electrons in the battery,” …
Agrifood Tech | April 22, 2021
Misfits Market raises $200 million to sell “ugly” fruits and vegetables
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 22 – Misfits Market has raised $200 million to sell “ugly” fruits and vegetables. The raise brings funding for the New Jersey-based …
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United States | April 15, 2021
Hazel Technologies raises $70 million for packaging that curbs food spoilage
ImpactAlpha, April 15 – Curbing food waste in the U.S. is a $14 billion annual opportunity. Chicago-based tech startup Hazel Technologies supplies packaging inserts …
Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy.
Dealflow | April 13, 2021
Ÿnsect acquires Protifarm to produce mealworms for human consumption
ImpactAlpha, April 13 — French agtech Ÿnsect, which has raised insects for animal feed and fertilizer since 2011, is expanding its production of …
Dealflow | April 12, 2021
Investors commit $25 million to expand lab-grown foods
ImpactAlpha, April 12 – Cellular meat is not just for burgers. Lab-grown food startups are now producing chicken, pork, steak, seafood and even fat. …
Dealflow | April 1, 2021
Root Capital secures $35 million from DFC to expand lending to rural agribusinesses
ImpactAlpha, April 1 — The U.S. International Development Corporation, formerly known as OPIC, is investing $35 million in the Cambridge, Mass.-based social lender …
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Dealflow | March 30, 2021
The Rise Fund backs plant-based food company Livekindly’s $335 million round
ImpactAlpha, March 30 – Switzerland-based Livekindly Collective is a group of plant-based food companies launched last year by impact investment firm Blue Horizon. The …
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Africa | March 24, 2021
African agtech is boosting yields, protecting resources and raising incomes
ImpactAlpha, March 24 – Field drones. Harvesting robots. Big Data-driven farm insights. Innovative technological applications in agriculture can have a profound impact on farmers’ …
Agrifood Tech | March 24, 2021
The Nature Conservancy is building a portfolio of agtech ventures to improve soil health
ImpactAlpha, March 24 — The Nature Conservancy has formed a partnership with iSelect Fund, an impact venture firm that invests mainly in agriculture …
Dealflow | March 23, 2021
OurCrowd secures $50 million to invest in water and agtech ventures
ImpactAlpha, March 23 — Waterfund, a global water investment firm, is backing Israel-based venture investing platform OurCrowd. The company launched its first impact …
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Innovative Finance | March 22, 2021
Alt-credit and mobile-money apps give African fintechs a closeup view of climate risks – and opportunities
ImpactAlpha, March 22 – Financial technology firms have leveraged billions of data points across mobile phones and social media to transform loan underwriting across …
Photo credit: Pixxel
Dealflow | March 18, 2021
Pixxel raises $7.3 million to launch satellites for agri-analytics
ImpactAlpha, March 18 – Bangalore-based Pixxel is launching its own hyperspectral satellites to improve analysis of ground-level crop and water information for the agriculture …
2030 Finance | March 16, 2021
Pure Harvest secures a $50 million sukuk for Middle East greenhouse expansion
ImpactAlpha, March 16 — Abu Dhabi-based Pure Harvest Smart Farms launched in 2016 to provide locally-grown, sustainable food in the United Arab Emirates, …
Dealflow | March 10, 2021
Vertical farm provider Infarm snags $100 million for in-store produce
ImpactAlpha, March 10 — Berlin-based Infarm makes small indoor vertical farms for herbs and vegetables that it sells to grocery stores to allow …
Dealflow | March 4, 2021
Therma secures $10.2 million to cut carbon in the cold chain
ImpactAlpha, March 4 – Two of the most significant ways to cut greenhouse gases: reduce food waste and improve refrigeration. San Francisco-based Therma is …