The “Future of Food in Latin America” program already has the 20 early stage startups selected by the Visa Foundation and Village Capital, who chose them for their contribution in the agritech and foodtech sectors.
It should be noted that 117 applications were received from 15 countries in the region: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Lucia and Uruguay.
The selected ventures
Savetic (Buenos Aires, Argentina) develops software that tracks products in a supermarket to analyze data and predict trends to reduce waste.
“Those who work with this type of products in supermarkets know the problems they face: expiration dates, food that is thrown away, logistical problems and costs for returning it to the producer,” they explain in their description.
Agros (Piura, Peru) enables the creation of virtual identities for farmers who cannot validate their business, allowing them to access services that would otherwise not be available to them.
Bio Natural Solutions (Lima, Peru) reuses tropical fruit waste to develop a safe and natural protection for fruits and vegetables that doubles their shelf life and is 100% toxic-free.
Ciencia Pura (Santiago, Chile) improves field productivity with software (IoT) that illuminates plants during their different stages of growth when natural light is insufficient.
ClearLeaf (San José, Costa Rica) creates a natural and completely toxic-free fungicide that improves plant growth and decreases health risks for farmers and consumers.
Costa Rica Insect Company (Cartago, Costa Rica) creates 0% waste insect-based nutritional solutions that address food shortages and malnutrition. Uses 90% less water and space than current animal protein solutions.
Digital Twin Corporation (Guatemala, Guatemala) helps farmers make decisions through predictive information generated by its prototype IoT platform, which uses fruit-shaped devices to travel alongside actual fruit in the supply chain to capture information.
Done Properly Co (Santiago, Chile) uses microorganisms and fermentation technology to transform raw materials and obtain 100% natural and sustainable protein.
Faba (São Leopoldo, Brazil) extracts protein from chickpeas in a sustainable way.
Fotortec (Santiago, Chile) transforms agricultural waste into mushrooms that can be used in different industries, for example, as flavor and protein enhancers in the food industry.
Guru Inc (Rodney Bay, St Lucia) operates a digital marketplace that helps farmers align their production with future demand.
ManejeBem (Florianópolis, Brazil) offers “Manejechat,” an application that helps small farmers communicate with technicians to solve problems that may arise during harvest.
Plant Squad (Mexico City, Mexico) develops plant-based protein with nutritional balance and environmental awareness.
Rit (Santiago, Chile) operates a digital marketplace that sells food waste from local restaurants at a reduced price.
SensaIOTech (São Paulo, Brazil) operates a platform that monitors crops and collects information to identify and predict pests.
Sensix (Minas Gerais, Brazil) uses drones and artificial intelligence to map soil fertility and other information to improve decision-making and predict productivity.
SiembraCo (Bogota, Colombia) allows its users, usually restaurants, to buy the virtual equivalent of a plot of land that is managed by local farmers where they can harvest what they consume and eliminate intermediaries.
Suyana (Santiago, Chile) provides weather insurance against catastrophic agricultural risks in places where little historical information is available.
The Earth Says (Santiago, Chile) analyzes pollinator abundance in real time to increase crop yields.
UrbanaGrow (Santiago, Chile) creates modular farms that can be placed anywhere to grow vegetables at any time of the year.
