Catalyzing Innovations that Matter
Farming may be one of the oldest industries, but there is no lack of opportunity for investment. Below are articles highlighting the need for innovations in agriculture, opportunities for investment, and the recent success of technology in the space.
Ag-tech could change how the world eats on Grand Haven Tribune
Venture capitalists are putting money into “ag tech” companies focused on anything from big data to drone technology, in an effort to feed the growing … read more
Big Data and Big Agriculture by Adam Lesser on Gigaom
Gigaom, the blog focused on emerging technologies, is tuned into the influence of big data in agriculture. The research arm has released a new report reviewing a variety of data driven services and their potential value-add for agribusiness.
Key findings include:
In the impact space, we frequently consider the social impact of our investments. A tangible way of looking at impact is through environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. Many of our peers focus specifically on the gender lens, a social metric in the ESG framework. Check out the following recent articles that discuss the tangible impact of gender lens investing and the admirable work of our peers.
WIN-WIN 2.0: Connecting gender lens investing with clean … read more
Agriculture Technology has the potential to tackle global problems of climate change and food security. We are happy to have had the opportunity to invest in technologies, such as the Rowbot, that are contributing to improvements in agriculture. Below are recent articles highlighting exciting developments in ag tech globally.
Ag Tech Avalance by Chris Bennett on AgWeb
“Big data and precision ag technology will be the most exciting front in technology for global agriculture for … read more
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a farming tool has been an increasingly popular topic in the agriculture technology space. The collection of articles below outline the benefits UAV use can offer the agriculture sector as well as the roadblocks in the way of widespread commercial use.
Good Morning! I’m Here to Scout Your Crop by Elton Robinson on Delta Farm Press
UAVs in agriculture are still a work in progress yet they … read more
Given our interest in agricultural technology, we are always interested to hear about new advancements in the space. The following articles describe a wide range of recent developments that will impact the ag tech sector now and in the years to come.
Agtech Company aWhere To Launch Crowdfunding Campaign on AgFunderby Samantha Hurst on Crowdfund Insider
Following up on our portfolio company OnFarm’s successful AgFunder campaign, in which the ag tech firm … read more
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2014
Boston, MA & Nairobi, Kenya – Invested Development, an early stage impact investment fund manager, has invested in iProcure, a technology startup serving the needs of the agricultural ecosystem in Kenya. iProcure provides software to enhance sales and inventory management in rural and peri-urban agriculture markets. As a result, farmers can access high-quality farming inputs and equipment conveniently and affordably.
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the … read more
Given our interest in agriculture, it is great to hear about governmental, institutional, and private efforts towards efficient and sustainable food production. Below are a few articles that detail this progress, with a focus on Africa.
Denmark to invest in African agriculture by Christian Wenande on The Copenhagen Post
Denmark’s trade and development minister recently announced earlier that the department is launching an agriculture investment fund targeting developing nations. The fund will be dedicated to … read more
Here at ID, we are always interested and excited to hear news coming out of the precision agriculture space all around the world. The following articles detail recent purchases and venture investments in this sector. We need to increase food production sustainably all around the world, and we’re pleased to see activity everywhere from Europe to South America.
Raven Buys Dutch Precision Ag Firm on Farm FuturesInvested Development Invests in Rowbot Systems to Increase Nitrogen Use Efficiency
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2014
Boston, MA & Minneapolis, MN – Invested Development (ID), an early stage impact investment fund manager, has invested in Rowbot Systems, an agriculture technology startup in Minnesota. Rowbot Systems is developing an autonomous robotic machine for precise Nitrogen fertilizer applications and cover crop seeding in cornfields and other row crops.
Rowbot’s autonomous machine navigates within narrow rows to … read more
Since 1960 we have increased global food production by 2.5X (FAO) and more than doubled our population. One of the biggest contributing factors to our increased crop production is Nitrogen and the Nitrogen-enriched fertilizer that is produced from it. Nitrogen is one of the basic building blocks of amino acids: a fundamental part of any organic organism and hugely beneficial to crop growth. However, it can have detrimental effects on the global ecosystem when used … read more
You may have noticed over the last few months that we’ve expanded our focus to technology in agriculture. After years of investing and months of research, “ag tech” is now an active sector focus, but it’s always been an area of interest for us. In fact, two of our portfolio companies, SlimTrader and Promethean Power, deploy their technologies with farmers. Over the last few months, we’ve seen a flurry of activity in the ag … read more
Ag tech startups and innovation continue to make headlines around the world. Here are this week’s stories covering our exciting new sector focus.
“(Nearly) Unlimited Food” by Ramez Naam on The Huffington Post X Prize Blog
One of the main reasons why we have increased our focus on ag tech is the potential for impact on food production and hunger. Demand is rising with population growth and so are food prices. Accordingly to … read more
It’s no secret that the agriculture space is a hot sector. At ID, we’re finding many opportunities that leverage mobile and information technology to improve efficiency for the small farmer. This Weekly Review features stories on the collaboration of technology and agriculture around the world.
“Unleashing Ugandan Farmers’ Potential Through Mobile Phones” by Kyla Yeoman on Global Envision
MobiPay Kenya has developed a unique application designed with small African farmers in mind. AgriLife… read more