The Singapore-based agri-tech startup, Agros, has raised US$2.7 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Gaia Impact Fund and Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia. Founded in 2019, Agros has been helping small and medium-sized horticulture farmers across Asia to decarbonize and double their profits through a full-stack solution. Its first two products, Agrosolar and Agrosoil, tackle major agriculture problems such as fuel dependency and soil degradation. As a result, the company has been experiencing significant growth, with a 4x year-on-year revenue growth in 2022, and it currently works with 1,500 farmers across two Asian countries. The funding will allow Agros to scale in its existing markets, open a third country, strengthen its leadership team, and develop an App to streamline the value chain.
Agros is committed to making agriculture sustainable and helping small farmers become climate-resilient. By providing solar-powered irrigation systems and raising awareness of sustainable agricultural practices, the company has increased farmers’ profits and made communities more resilient to variable climate conditions while reducing CO2 emissions. With the funding, Agros plans to transform the lives of thousands of farmers while abating millions of tons of carbon emissions. The investors, Gaia Impact Fund and Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia believe that Agros has the potential to support millions of farmers across the region and are impressed by the company’s dedication to providing decarbonized solutions to farmers.
AgTech Developments In South-East Asia
Asian government’s push for smarter farming practices will drive the adoption of agritech in the country’s agricultural sector. Digital technologies are vital to improving the resilience of farmers to tackle the challenges posed by climate change and COVID-19. Thailand is not alone in recognizing the potential of agritech to revolutionize the agricultural sector. Across Southeast Asia, there is a growing emphasis on digitizing and transforming the agricultural sector to make it more sustainable, efficient, and resilient.
Urban farming is another area that has increased interest in the wake of the pandemic. The Singapore Food Agency’s SGD 60 million Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund is one example of initiatives promoting sustainable and tech-enabled farming practices in urban areas. With many cities heavily reliant on food imports, urban farming can help build a more robust and secure food system. As Southeast Asia’s population grows and urbanizes, urban farming will likely become an increasingly important part of the region’s food production landscape.
As Southeast Asia becomes the largest region in the global food market, agritech investment is set to surge. According to AgFunder, agrifood tech startups worldwide raised nearly double the amount of funding in 2021 compared to 2020, with Southeast Asia poised to become a key market for agritech investment. The rapid pace of digitization in the region, driven by the pandemic, has created a massive new market for agritech startups, with millions of new digital consumers joining in 2021 alone. Furthermore, as the world faces increasingly complex food security challenges, agritech will be vital in ensuring sustainable and efficient food production for a rapidly growing global population.
Image provided by Agros
