EBRD announces winners of EBRD AgVenture startup competition

• The EBRD announces three winners and three runners-up in its EBRD AgVenture startup competition
• Prizes include grants, mentorship, advisory support, and opportunities for networking and visibility
• Competition for startups aims to enhance the growth and competitiveness of green technology in the agrifood sector

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has revealed the winners and runners-up of EBRD AgVenture 2024, the Bank's competition for startups that are developing innovative technology to make the agricultural and food sector greener. The announcement was made today at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit London.

The winners are Proofminder, Green Growth and Algebra Intelligence.

Proofminder provides an easy-to-use, AI-powered platform based in Hungary and designed to help growers achieve their production goals sustainably. By analysing hyper-precise drone images, Proofminder provides growers with time-sensitive information about each plant and leaf in the field. This results in increased yield and decreased use of chemicals, preventing biodiversity loss and enabling seed or crop producers and farmers to meet their production goals sustainably.

Green Growth is a Latvian startup, that provides food producers with the simplest way to track their harvest and provide proof of carbon capture, sustainability levels and crop origin. The essential data from machinery guides producers on how to reduce their use of fertiliser by up to 30 per cent and track the efficiency of their sustainability practices.

Algebra Intelligence is a Jordanian startup specialising in an IoT-based approach to optimising energy management and providing software-as-a-service solutions for digitising maintenance management. By implementing real-time monitoring, forecasting and proactive alerts on energy and water resources, agrifood clients can achieve significant improvements in efficiency and reduce their costs.

Winners were selected based on a variety of criteria, including the relevance of the problem that each company is trying to solve; the differentiation between its products or services and others in the market; the firms' go-to-market strategy; their progress and traction; the experience of each team; and the firms' financing.

The runners-up for the competition are BeeHold, Farmolog and Cropsa.

BeeHold is an innovative Serbian agri-tech startup dedicated to transforming beekeeping through the use of advanced artificial intelligence.

Farmolog is a Turkish start-up that collects primary data from farms and simplifies the related analysis and reporting around certification and operations.

Cropsa is a leading Egyptian financial platform that links companies, traders and farmers in the agricultural and veterinary sectors and facilitates the process of buying and selling production inputs.

The winning start-ups will benefit from tailored advisory support worth up to €80,000 through the EBRD's Star Venture programme. They will also receive a €10,000 grant for additional services, including mentoring sessions with growth experts, and opportunities for networking and visibility at global agrifood tech forums. The runners-up will receive up to €50,000 for tailored advisory services and a further €10,000 grant for business growth needs.

The startups pitched to three experts from EBRD: Natalia Zhukova, Head of Food and Agribusiness, Ervin Luga, Head of Venture Capital Investment Programme and Jelena Erker, Senior Banker; and to investors: Andrew D. Ive, founder of Big Idea Ventures, Jan Kobler, Managing Partner at South Central Ventures. The event was moderated by Nemanja Grgic, Associate Director, Corporate Sector Advisory at the EBRD.

The EBRD AgVenture programme supports early-stage businesses that are developing technology to make the agricultural and food industries greener and more sustainable. It aims to help tackle the major problems that food systems face, such as how to make food production more efficient, address climate change, and include target groups and small businesses in global value chains.

The EBRD AgVenture competition is funded by Spain through the EBRD's High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action - HIPCA (which is also supported by Austria, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, South Korea, Switzerland, the TaiwanICDF, the United Kingdom and the United States of America).

Since 1991, the EBRD has invested over €200 billion in more than 7,200 projects on three continents, fostering the transition to open market-oriented economies and promoting private and entrepreneurial initiative. v

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