24.08.2024
News
“Nestle” partners with a venture capital fund to invest in the sustainable development of startups in Latin America
The plan is to support new agribusinesses in finding technological solutions for food production and farming methods.
Nestlé launches a partnership with The Yield Lab Latam, a specialized venture capital fund that invests in technology startups in Latin America.
The fund supports young companies in the agricultural sector to find technological solutions in the field of food production and agricultural methods.
The fund seeks to bring together investors, startups, corporations, farmers, the public sector and research institutions to “promote the sustainable transformation of this critical industry.”
Nestlé has allocated investment for The Yield Lab Latam from one of its funds, which invests in startups and organizations working in two areas: promoting packaging solutions and recycling infrastructure that contribute to a circular economy, and helping the food sector transition to renewable agriculture.
The KitKat chocolate and Maggi sauce maker did not disclose how much money it invested in the project.
Maxence de Royer, vice president of strategy, business development and ESG at Nestlé Latin America, said: “Nestlé’s investment and partnership with The Yield Lab Latam will help us advance our search for sustainable solutions for the food industry.
“Investing in technological innovation in the agri-food sector and harnessing the energy and creativity of startups can help achieve shared goals such as reducing emissions and increasing biodiversity. This complements our own research work in this area, for example through our new Institute of Agricultural Sciences.”
Santiago Murtagh, Managing Director of The Yield Lab Latam, said: “The collaboration with Nestlé reflects our shared vision that we and the food production ecosystem must work together to help solve the industry’s challenges.
“We are leveraging our proximity to local entrepreneurial talent and the capabilities of our network of innovation centers. From this local position and our regional investment experience in seven Latin American countries, we can act as a bridge between food investors and innovative solutions for the sustainable production of healthy, nutritious, safe and affordable food for generations to come.”
Nestlé stated that it is “committed to reducing its carbon footprint in the Latin America region across its supply chain and operations” and that one of its activities is the implementation of regenerative farming methods, especially in the dairy supply chain, where the company has already launched more than 80 projects in 11 countries.
It is believed that such projects can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while restoring natural resources.
Yield Lab Latam was founded in 2017 with offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. It is part of The Yield Lab, a network of venture capital firms headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Nestlé created its Institute of Agricultural Sciences in February last year
last February with the aim of “translating new advances in agricultural science into concrete programs and identifying the most promising agricultural technologies”.
The institute focuses on areas such as crop production, dairy farming and agricultural systems science and will “evaluate and combine science-based solutions to improve the nutritional and sensory qualities, as well as the environmental impact of agricultural raw materials.”
At the opening of the institute, Stefan Palzer, Nestlé’s CTO, said: “The new institute will help accelerate the development of dairy farming: “The new institute will accelerate the translation of scientific research into concrete solutions that can be implemented at the farm level to support farmers around the world in improving their environmental footprint, reducing food and nutrient losses, and better adapting to climate change, while ensuring the quality of the raw materials they produce.”
The company also has sustainable cocoa and coffee sourcing initiatives, the Nestlé Cocoa Plan and the Nescafé Plan.
Nestlé said it invests CHF 1.7 billion (USD 1.86 billion) a year in research and development.
In April, the European Union (EU) decided to ban products related to deforestation, which will affect suppliers of cocoa and palm oil.
The EU’s legislative body, the European Parliament, ruled that companies will only be allowed to sell products in the EU if the supplier provides a so-called due diligence statement confirming that the products do not originate from deforested areas or have not caused forest degradation after December 31, 2020.