Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest bread producer, IDB Lab, the innovation arm of the Inter-American Development Bank, and SQM, a Chilean producer and developer of essential products for human progress, including health, nutrition, renewable energy and technology, have joined as Limited Partners of The Yield Lab Opportunity Fund, a specialized venture capital fund to invest in agricultural and food technology in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Latam Impact Fund, a fund managed by Sonen Capital and Fondo de Fondos, is also in the process of closing to participate in this third fund.
The Yield Lab Latam Opportunity Fund aims to invest in 30 Seed and Series A/B stage companies in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is managed by The Yield Lab Latam with investors from the Agtech Garage network in Brazil, Nesters in Argentina and Agcenter in Colombia. The aim is to raise US$50 million to invest in startups that are reconfiguring the food industry value chain in an inclusive, transparent, innovative and disruptive way.
Since its creation, Yield Lab Latam has had the support of renowned operators in the innovation market and institutional investors in several Latin American countries, to promote innovation in the agriculture and food technology sector and bridge the gap between the agri-food and venture capital ecosystems across the region.
“Our investment stems from Grupo Bimbo’s broader commitment to achieving a zero net carbon emissions future. We believe that YLL will enable the agricultural sector in Latin America to adopt more sustainable practices, fostering the development of technology suited to the unique challenges the region is facing,” said Constantino Matouk, global vice president of Bimbo Ventures. “Sustainable agriculture represents one of the focus sectors of our Latam Impact Fund strategy, given its enormous potential to generate positive socio-environmental impacts.”
The fund aims to invest in 30 companies in the Seed and Series A/B stages in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is managed by The Yield Lab Latam with investors from the Agtech Garage network in Brazil, Nesters in Argentina and Agcenter in Colombia.
The goal is to raise US$ 50 million to invest in startups. Since its creation, Yield Lab Latam has had the support of renowned players in the innovation market and institutional investors in several Latin American countries, to promote transformation in the food and agriculture technology sector and bridge the gap between the agri-food sector and venture capital.
“Our investment stems from Grupo Bimbo’s broader commitment to achieving a carbon-neutral future. We believe that YLL will enable Latin America’s agricultural sector to adopt more sustainable practices by promoting the development of technology suited to the unique challenges faced in the region,” said Constantino Matouk, Global VP of Bimbo Ventures.
“Sustainable agriculture represents one of the focus sectors of our Latam Impact Fund strategy, given its enormous potential to generate positive socio-environmental impacts. By partnering with Yield Lab, a fund manager that truly understands the needs and challenges of the agricultural sector in the region, we want to accelerate the necessary changes across the sector in order to contribute to increasing access and affordability of food and opportunities for rural people in communities,” added Sandra Sainz, Managing Director of Sonen Capital.
“The food value chain is changing and, as an important producer and developer of specialty nutrients, we intend to be part of that change. Together with the fund, we hope to identify disruptive technologies and business models that, together with our competitive advantages, will allow us to maintain our leading position in high-value crops,” commented Pablo Altimiras, executive vice president of iodine and nitrates at SQM.
“Over the next 30 years, the ways of producing and consuming food will be radically different from what we know today, so the industry will have to adapt and transform into more robust, efficient and sustainable designs,” commented the team at The Yield Lab Latam. “Within this new paradigm, there are talents who can contribute great ideas, processes and solutions to these challenges. At YLL we know, work with and promote these talents. That’s why we offer different investors the opportunity to get involved with them, to be pioneers and witnesses of this revolution. We invite you to get fully into the game, fully understand what the challenges are and how they can contribute by working side by side with the main players in the system,” he adds.
Nossos investidores são atores-chave na cadeia de valor alimentar, produtores, empresas e prestadores de serviços comprometidos com o futuro sustentável do setor. “Nosso objetivo é conectá-los com startups e atores de inovação (centros, universidades, pesquisa) para abordar pontos problemáticos identificados e oportunidades de longo prazo, criando assim uma rede que gera valor real.” Além disso, os membros da equipe The Yield Lab Latam, Tomás Peña, Kieran Gartlan, Santiago Murtagh, Roberto Vitón e Camila Petignat comunicaram que “com o fechamento deste fundo, The Yield Lab Latam se consolida como uma das empresas líderes em investimento em AgriFoodTech na América Latina nos últimos cinco anos, período em que lançou três fundos e investiu em 19 empresas em sete países.
Esses quatro novos investidores se juntam a produtores e empresas familiares da cadeia produtiva agrícola que participaram do primeiro fechamento do Opportunity Fund, incluindo SURCOS S.A, empresa argentina de insumos agrícolas, Petrovina, empresa brasileira de sementes e Damha Agro, grande empresa brasileira grupo agropecuário.
Sobre o Yield Lab Latam
O Yield Lab Latam faz parte de uma rede global de fundos de Venture Capital focados em AgriFood Tech, que iniciou suas atividades em St. Louis, Missouri em 2014. A rede hoje está presente em quatro continentes, incluindo América do Norte, Europa, América Latina e Ásia-Pacífico.
A Yield Lab Latam foi fundada em 2017 e possui escritórios na Argentina, Brasil, México e Chile. A tese do fundo é investir em empresas sediadas na América Latina em todo o espectro de inovação em alimentos e agricultura, do campo ao prato.
Sobre o BID Lab – Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento (BID)
O BID Lab é o laboratório de inovação do Grupo do Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento, a principal fonte de financiamento de desenvolvimento e especialização para melhorar a vida na América Latina e no Caribe. O objetivo do BID Lab é impulsionar a inovação para a inclusão na região, mobilizando financiamento, conhecimento e conexões para testar soluções iniciais do setor privado com potencial para transformar a vida de populações vulneráveis afetadas por condições econômicas, sociais e ambientais. Desde 1993, o BID Lab aprovou mais de US$ 2 bilhões em projetos implantados em 26 países da América Latina e do Caribe.
About Grupo Bimbo
Grupo Bimbo is the world’s leading and largest bakery and a major player in snacks. Grupo Bimbo has 214 bakeries and factories and more than 1,600 sales centers strategically located in 34 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. Its main product lines include sliced bread, breads and rolls, pastries, cakes, cookies, toast, English muffins, tortillas & flatbreads, snacks and confectionery, among others. Grupo Bimbo produces more than 10,000 products and has one of the largest direct distribution networks in the world, with more than 3.3 million points of sale, more than 55,000 routes and more than 141,000 associates. Its shares are traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) under the ticker BIMBO, and on the over-the-counter market in the United States with ADR Level 1, under the ticker BMBOY.
About the Latam Impact Fund
The Latam Impact Fund seeks to offer investors the opportunity to invest in high-growth sectors of the Latin American economy, aiming for attractive financial returns combined with positive social and environmental impact. The Fund supports entrepreneurs and fund managers who want to intentionally generate impact by contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). This fund is jointly managed by Sonen Capital and Fondo de Fondos.
About SQM
SQM is a global company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Santiago Stock Exchange. It is an integrated producer of iodine, lithium, industrial chemicals, potash fertilizers and special plant nutrients. Its main products are potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, potassium sodium nitrate and special mixtures. Potassium nitrate is a natural, chlorine-free and highly soluble fertilizer that optimizes the use of water in agriculture when applied through the most sophisticated irrigation technologies, increasing the quality and yield of high-value crops. SQM’s specialty nutrients are sold in more than 100 countries to more than 1,200 customers, of which Latin America accounts for 25% of its sales. Iodine is used in a wide range of medical, agricultural and industrial applications, as well as in human and animal nutrition products. Lithium and its derivatives are mainly used in electrochemical materials for electric vehicle batteries, portable computers, tablets, cell phones and electronic devices, frits for the ceramics and enamels industry, heat-resistant glass (ceramic glass), the grease industry and lithium derivatives. Finally, SQM is integrated into the entire value chain, from production to marketing, offering high-value products to its customers.
For more information: latam@theyieldlab.com