ImpactAlpha, August 3 – UM6P Ventures, the venture investing arm of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, launched last year, supports early-stage science and tech startups in and serving Morocco and Africa. It has added U.S.-based food preservation tech company Akorn Technology and Israel-based biotech venture Climate Crop to its portfolio.
Among the fund’s priorities: startups that address “climate change and its impact on the global food supply, security and sustainability,” said UM6P Ventures’ Othman Chraibi.
UM6P Ventures has made 14 seed and Series A investments in agrifood, clean energy, healthcare and other tech sectors.
Climate resilience
Israel’s Climate Crop uses gene editing to develop plant varieties that can weather climate change, produce higher yields and store carbon. The startup participated in San Francisco-based biotech accelerator IndieBio.
UM6P’s investment will support Climate Crop’s R&D on potatoes and tomatoes, two critical food crops in Morocco. It will also get access to UM6P’s scientific experts and research and experimental farm facilities.
Food waste
Berkeley, Calif.-based Akorn uses corn and other plant by-products to make food coatings that extend the shelf-life of fresh foods.
The investment from UM6P will support production and testing of the coatings’ performance in Morocco’s climate conditions.
