Dealflow | September 12, 2018

Solena raises capital from Kirchner Impact Foundation to support Mexico’s small farmers

Jessica Pothering
ImpactAlpha Editor

Jessica Pothering

ImpactAlpha, September 11 – Grupo Solena, based in Guanajuato, Mexico, has raised an undisclosed amount of capital from the Kirchner Impact Foundation for its methodology to help small farmers to improve soil health.

Solena launched in 2015 as a university project to help Mexico’s small farmers analyze and manage their farms’ soil microbiome, which leads to improved soil health and crop yield. The company now works with more than 2,000 farmers in Mexico.

Kircher invested via its Food Fellowship program, which “harnesses the power of millennials” committed to responsible agriculture. Funding is available specifically for university students, like Solena’s founders, who launched the company as biotech engineering students at the National Polytechnic Institute in Silao, Guanajuato.

“For us, it was important to find a profitable company that was helping smallholder farmers in Mexico, but with potential for international expansion,” said Kirchner’s Adrian Garcia-Casarrubias.

The Kirchner program has also backed iron supplement venture Lucky Iron Fish, agricultural supply chain management software company Reach Providors and health foods company Kuli Kuli Foods.