Rabobank announces 15 Agri-tech Start-ups and Innovators for SustainableAg Asia Challenge

Rabobank, a leading global bank in food and agriculture and sustainability, today announced the 15 agri-tech startups and innovators which have been shortlisted to go to the Pitch day of its SustainableAg Asia Challenge.

Run in partnership with Padang & Co, the Challenge invited submissions from agri-tech companies with a market-ready solution that uses cutting-edge data-driven technology, analysis and interconnectivity to help meet Asia’s increasing demand for food. It aims to promote integrity and interconnectivity across the region’s vital agriculture and food supply chains.

For instance, the adoption of agri-tech solutions will empower farmers, as well as food and agriculture companies to make better-informed decisions for smart farming, processing techniques and food distribution. In addition, benefits trickle down to the region’s vast number of smallholder farmers, enabling them to improve crop production and access to markets for increased incomes.

Alaïs Faucon, Sustainable Solutions Development Manager at Rabobank said: “We have been delighted by the calibre of submissions to our SustainableAg Asia Challenge. The 15 shortlisted companies all represent diverse, exciting and emerging agri-tech solutions that can drive effective changes for more efficient agri-food supply chains to ensure a more sustainable food production practice. Together with our partners and these innovative companies, we can contribute to feeding the world more sustainably.”

With Asia’s population expected to increase from 4.6 billion to 5.3 billion in 2050 and with limited arable land and natural resources available for increased food production, Rabobank believes data and innovation are key to feeding this growing population sustainably.

The Rabobank SustainableAg Asia Challenge is supported by Rabo Foundation, and in partnership with ADB Ventures, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Bayer, Bits & Bites, COFCO International, DSM, Future Group, Temasek and Olam International who are acting as judges.

Evaluated based on factors such as technology innovation, market readiness, scalability and extent of addressing integrity in the agri-food value chain in Asia, the shortlist of 15 entries cover wide-ranging solutions, from helping smallholders with their crops to financing options, and the creation of technology platforms across the agricultural supply chain that will boost productivity, efficiency and income for the farmers.

The shortlisted companies will have the opportunity to attend the Rabobank SustainableAg Asia Challenge Pitch Day in Singapore on 10 October 2019 for a chance to win a cash prize from a pool of US$20,000. More importantly, they will also stand to win exclusive invitations to present their innovations at Rabobank Asia’s annual Food & Agribusiness Advisory Board Meeting in Shanghai on 31 October 2019. This meeting is Rabobank’s annual premier event bringing together chairmen and CEOs of leading food and agribusiness companies and commodity traders from the Asia Pacific region.

The Top-15 shortlisted companies going to the Pitch Day of the SustainableAg Asia Challenge are:

1. 8villages (Indonesia). An ICT company providing a complete platform of ecosystem using different services to empower communities in the world of agriculture - www.8villages.com
2. AgNext (India). Builds data-driven value chains with the latest technologies that can transform the way we grow, procure, trade, store and consume food, benefiting all stakeholders of the agribusiness industry - www.agnext.com
3. Beijing ICAN Technology (China). A leading agricultural comprehensive service platform centered on crop intelligent planting decision-making - www.icanag.com
4. Bric Agriculture Information Technology (China). Provides professional services that cover various areas from commodity trading and I/E, finance and investment, to brand management and marketing, and technology adoptions - www.accfutures.com
5. CropIn Technology Solutions (India). Uses ground, weather and satellite data to help agribusinesses de-risk their supply chains through real-time monitoring and making data-driven decisions - www.cropin.com
6. DeHaat (India). With a technology-enabled platform currently providing complete end-to-end services to more than 170,000 Indian farmers from “Seed to Market” with an aim to expand to a million by 2022 - www.agrevolution.in
7. EM3 Agriservices (India). Breaking the stereotypes for increasing agricultural productivity by bringing technology and mechanization for farming communities on a Pay-for-Use basis - www.em3agri.com
8. FarMart (India). Helps smallholder farmers get access to low cost digital credit by linking credit to purchase of farm inputs at merchant points - www.farmart.co
9. FarmGuide (Lennon Agitech) (India). Uses satellite imagery and mobile to digitize farms and farmers with agriculture insights and risk ratings on a single platform - Building an Agri data stack for the world - www.farmguide.in
10. Glife Technologies (Singapore). An Agtech B2B e-commerce platform that connects farmers with horeca (hotel, restaurants & café) businesses. Glife intends to overlay technology across the agriculture supply chain to improve productivity and efficiency - www.glife.com.sg
11. Jai Kisan (India). Facilitates capital to under-banked and under-served rural emerging markets ensuring a low cost of capital and record low turnaround time with minimal documentation for the borrower - www.jai-kisan.com/main
12. Longcom Internet-of-Things (China). China’s first end-to-end smart agricultural provider, with an IoT solution bringing higher efficiency and more income to farmers, enabling a traceable, efficient and sustainable food supply chain - www.lkwlw.com/
13. Mcfly (China). A smart agricultural service provider focusing on visual spectroscopy that takes the intelligent monitoring technology of visual spectroscopy as the core to create a precise and scientific agricultural technology system and standards - www.mcfly.com.cn
14. PT Crowde Membangun Bangsa (Indonesia). An agri-focused financial technology start-up that empowers farmers with technology and capital through a farmer-friendly financing ecosystem; growing business, creating employment, and supporting local communities - www.crowde.co
15. Stellapps Technologies (India). A full-stack IoT company that drives digitization of the dairy sector to significantly enhance income, profitability and yield per cow of farmers in emerging economies - www.stellapps.com

Find out more about the SustainableAg Asia Challenge by Rabobank at www.sustainableag.asia

About Rabobank

With roots in the Netherlands and Food & Agri, Rabobank is an international financial services provider with activities in 39 countries in the field of retail banking, wholesale banking, private banking, leasing and real estate. Measured by Tier 1 capital, Rabobank Group is one of the world’s largest financial institutions with high credit ratings by all rating agencies. As an industry leader in environmental, social and governance (ESG), Rabobank is ranked as an ESG Leader by Sustainalytics, placing Rabobank second among its industry peers.

Rabobank’s mission of ‘Growing a better world together’ stems from our cooperative heritage and agricultural roots. With our knowledge, networks and financing capabilities, Rabobank aims to encourage and facilitate clients in adopting a more sustainable food production practice globally. We do this by concentrating our efforts on four most pressing food issues together with our clients, partners and colleagues worldwide: increasing the availability of food, improving access to food, promoting a balanced nutrition and increasing stability of food supply chains. Last year, Rabobank launched its first Asia Innovation Challenge, the “Food Loss Challenge Asia” with India-based company Ecozen Solutions and its solar-powered cold rooms emerging as the Winner. Read more about Rabobank at www.rabobank.com.

About Rabo Foundation

Rabo Foundation is Rabobank’s social fund. The Foundation invests in the self-sufficiency of farmer organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America, by putting up finance and by sharing the cooperative, banking and agricultural expertise that the Rabobank Group has built up over many years. This helps organizations to achieve their goals of offering small-scale farmers access to financing, savings opportunities, knowledge and new markets. In addition, new technological developments can be deployed to help serve small farmers even more effectively. Digitization is therefore a key focus for Rabo Foundation and consists of a combination of four data streams: field information from the farmer, chain information, geodata and the use of fintech such as a mobile savings account and credit scoring. This fits seamlessly into Rabobank’s mission of growing a better world together. Read more about our Rabo Foundation at www.rabobankfoundation.com