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Agrotech, Company News, Start ups

This partnership aims to empower Farm-to-Fork Agri startups In Egypt with Ninjacart’s technology and expertise, fostering innovation and growth in Egypt’s AgriTech sector

Entlaq, a Cairo-based entrepreneurship think tank has forged a strategic alliance with Ninjacart, India’s leading agri-startup that leverages technology and data to organise the agriculture ecosystem. This alliance focuses on identifying and supporting promising Farm-to-Fork Agri startups in Egypt, providing them with Ninjacart’s cutting-edge tech platform, supply chain management solutions and specialized advisory services.

The partnership specifically focuses on efficient supply chain management through advanced technology, connecting farmers directly to markets in Egypt. It also emphasizes implementing data-driven agriculture, ensuring quality assurance and certification, fostering financial inclusion across the Agri value chain, expanding marketplaces, and reducing waste.

Ninjacart’s expansion into Egypt under its global initiative, NinjaVentures, underscores the company’s dedication to identifying startups in Egypt that align with its business model. Through this partnership, Ninjacart strives to drive non-linear growth in the Egyptian Agri sector, prioritizing innovation, sustainability, and efficiency. Ninjacart’s distinguished NinjaVentures initiative is an ambitious global endeavour dedicated to extending Ninjacart’s technological expertise, knowledge, and skills to emerging startups in various countries aiming to revolutionize agricultural supply chains.

Kartheeswaran K K, Co-Founder & CEO, Ninjacart said “This partnership between Entlaq and Ninjacart is a clear testament to Ninjacart’s dedication to global agricultural transformation. We’re genuinely excited to leverage Ninjacart’s technological prowess to empower Egyptian startups, catalysing innovation, and fostering growth. With a mission to build the most trusted, efficient, and inclusive AgriTrade Network, we collaborate with startups worldwide, generously sharing our technological expertise. This strategic alliance with Entlaq marks a significant milestone as we extend our commitment to drive positive change in the Egyptian Agri-Startup ecosystem”

Omar Rezk, Co-founder and Managing Director of Strategy and Consulting, Entlaq said “Our collaboration with Ninjacart marks a transformative step for Egypt’s agritech ecosystem, driven by our deep belief in technology’s potential to reshape agriculture. We are truly excited about the opportunities this partnership opens for startups, crucial to fostering economic growth in Egypt. With the agriculture sector employing 29.2 per cent of the workforce and contributing 11.3-13.6 per cent to the GDP (approximately EGP 400 billion), the scope for agritech is vast. Entlaq’s vision is to catalyse Egypt’s position as a regional innovation hub, empowering startups and contributing significantly to the thriving agritech landscape. This collaboration with Ninjacart has set us on the track to achieve this goal promising a future characterized by technological innovation, operational efficiency, and sustainable growth achieving Egypt’s 2030 Vision.”

This partnership aims to empower Farm-to-Fork Agri

AgroPolicy, India, Sustainability

National Conclave aims to discuss and identify comprehensive support systems for Agri Startups in India that will foster innovation, sustainability, and profitability and make their solutions accessible to farmers

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in partnership with FICCI, CII & PHDCCI organised a National Conclave ‘Unleashing the Potential of AgriTech Startups for the Benefit of Farmers.’ Secretary, Manoj Ahuja, Additional Secretary, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Joint Secretary (RKVY), Ashish Kumar Srivastav and Joint Secretary (Extn.), Samuel Praveen Kumar along with other senior officers from Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and representatives of FICCI, CII and PHDCII attended the conclave.

The conclave aimed to discuss and identify comprehensive support systems for Agri Startups in India that will foster innovation, sustainability, and profitability and make their solutions accessible to farmers. The conclave also explored strategies to overcome challenges, leverage technology, and capitalize on market opportunities to empower Agri Startups and drive positive impact in the agriculture sector.

FICCI organised two breakout sessions. The theme for session 1 was “The State Government’s Vital Role in Building Enabling Ecosystem for AgriTech in partnership with state governments”. Session 1 brought out the challenges faced by start-ups at the state level and recommendations on how the state governments can help in building an enabling ecosystem to overcome these. The major recommendations include- creating an AgHub: An inclusive agri innovation ecosystem, Agri Data Management Framework (2023), Creating a nodal agency for start-ups within the state governments, developing a start-up portal with a repository of information, knowledge and schemes with a chatbot facility, Start-up India can include an exclusive website with information on agriculture start-ups.

National Conclave aims to discuss and identify

Climate, Environment, India, Sustainability

This includes eco-friendly alternatives to conventional products, promoting recycling and waste reduction, using sustainable materials, and offering carbon-neutral or carbon-negative services

Many SMEs or startups are developing and implementing green technologies to reduce carbon emissions. These technologies include renewable energy solutions like solar panels, wind turbines, and energy-efficient systems that help minimise greenhouse gas emissions. 

These SMEs and startups are also focusing on developing and offering sustainable products and services. This includes eco-friendly alternatives to conventional products, promoting recycling and waste reduction, using sustainable materials, and offering carbon-neutral or carbon-negative services.

Climate change poses a formidable and urgent challenge in our era, wherein the agricultural industry emerges as a notable contributor to the release of greenhouse gases. Population growth has fueled higher food demand, leading to emissions from various agricultural activities. At SLCM, we recognise the importance of going green and have implemented initiatives like Agri Suraksha and solar cameras. These measures have saved 72 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. We are committed to taking further actions to ensure the safety and security of agricultural produce while progressing towards sustainability says, Sandeep Sabharwal, Group CEO, of Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM)

Rajamanohar Somasundaram, Founder and CEO of, Aquaconnect adds With the world population having crossed the 8 billion mark, the pressure on food systems is intense, pushing us to redefine the way we produce and consume. Farmed seafood, one of the most sustainable forms of protein production, is steadily emerging as a viable alternative to meet the nutritional requirements of this rapidly growing population. However, producing clean and sustainable protein requires collection action- from the government, impact organisations, startups, and all the players across the seafood value chain. There is a pressing need to promote and implement decarbonisation measures through intelligent tech intervention. 

Aquaconnect is focused on building scalable tech models that leverage artificial intelligence and Geo-Spatial technology to decarbonise the seafood value chain. From quantifying emissions and measuring carbon footprints to strategising countermeasures. We believe that the strides we make today can help consumers make responsible choices tomorrow, thereby making the seafood sector a significant player in the global combat against climate change.”

Packaging is one of the industries that generate maximum plastic pollution and needs to work on more sustainable options that are as durable as plastic and are the best alternative to plastic. Achieving a completely sustainable alternative to plastic is not going to be easy but at Bambrew we aim to do so and are working towards it. The packaging that we have developed is 100 per cent sustainable and decomposable and in many ways is as durable as plastic. There is a need to identify the pain points when it comes to the end consumer and burst the myths associated with sustainable options, one being the pricing. The government too has understood the cause of the problem and is taking many initiatives like the ban on single-use plastics. To date, at Bambrew we have been able to save more than 20,000 tonnes of plastic and we aim to save more as we strive to grow and are able to replace plastic with our sustainable business model. Says Vaibhav Anant, Founder, and CEO, of Bambrew

Dr Vibha Tripathi, Founder & MD, of Boon (a water tech startup), says “Indian start-ups and SMEs are leading a green revolution by promoting energy-efficient technology, supply chain management, waste reduction, and production processes. 

We being a water-tech startup are pioneering the NetZero Water Initiative. Under this initiative, Boon is replacing plastic water bottles with sustainable glass water bottles across sectors including hospitality, corporates, and government. We have been able to save 548,459 kg of carbon emissions equivalent to planting 26144 trees. We are on a mission to beat plastic pollution while making drinking water accessible and affordable.”

This includes eco-friendly alternatives to conventional products,

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, R&D, Start ups, Supply Chain, Transportation

Draft Policy aims to harness new technology developed by Indian Start-ups and entrepreneurs.

In order to build a strong innovation ecosystem, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) issued draft on ‘Sagarmala Innovation and Start-up Policy’. This draft policy aims at nurturing start-ups and other entities to co-create the future of India’s growing maritime sector. This entails intensive collaboration of the organizations to build a strong eco-system facilitating innovation and Startups in the country that will drive sustainable growth and generate large scale employment opportunities. This enhances the cooperation and coordination between academic institutions, public sector, private sector and convergence of different schemes and programs to groom fresh ideas and approaches to resolve the issues and challenges to boost up the efficiency in the areas of operation, maintenance, and infrastructure development.

Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister, MoPSW stated that’ Sagarmala Innovation and Start-up Policy’ will surely promote innovation and entrepreneurship. Through this policy, MoPSW wants to enable start-ups to grow and prosper through innovations”.

The designed framework enables the distribution of responsibilities and benefits among the various stakeholders. This is not only limited to the existing stakeholders but also includes upcoming young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas.

Draft policy has identified several key areas for the startup to flourish including decarbonization, optimizing processes through data, maritime education, multi-modal transportation, manufacturing, alternate/ advance materials, maritime cybersecurity, smart communication and marine electronics.

Details of draft ‘Sagarmala Innovation and Start-up Policy’:

Digital Portal based selection of startups ensuring a transparent process

Grants to create a minimum viable product/ service (MVP), commercialization of proprietary technology including market entry or scaling up

Creation of ‘Launch pads’ at Ports for carrying out trials, facilitating pilot projects, establishing working space and adopting products and solutions

Annual Start-up Awards in the maritime sector recognizing distinguished efforts of innovation

Organizing Buyer-Seller Meetings and providing Technical Knowledge Support for VCs

Guidance to Non-Registered Start-ups and Individuals with promising ideas in Maritime Sector including registration of start-up and availing Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognition

Regulatory support in Tenders and Sub-contracting

Legal and accountancy back up to start-ups for IP-Patent filing, Company registration, annual filings and closures

The promotion of start-ups shall be through development of Maritime Innovation Hubs (MIH) which shall perform the following functions:

Develop incubators and accelerators with state-of-the-art facilities to cover all aspects of the startup journey from idea to scaled product.

Develop centralized repository containing all pertinent information to assist emerging entrepreneurs

Attract investment for eligible start-up businesses and innovative maritime technology

Entrepreneur development through ‘know-how’ sessions about the various aspects of the maritime industry and launching of innovation focused programs

Collaborate with national & international stakeholders for mentorship, knowledge sharing and facilitate access to global subject matter experts, serial entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors with the potential to get their entry and scaling in India.

Draft Policy aims to harness new technology

Agro Universities, Agrotech, India, Start ups

The programme aims to connect the FPOs/ FPCs and the farmers of Karnataka with the startups supported by a-IDEA.

a-IDEA, Technology Business Incubator of ICAR- National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad organised FPOs/FPCs, Farmers, Startups Immersion Programme at Karnataka Science and Technology Academy (KSTA), Bengaluru in collaboration with University of Horticultural Science Campus at Bengaluru with an objective to connect the FPOs/ FPCs and the farmers of Karnataka with the startups supported by a-IDEA.

The startups presented their innovations, products and services and demonstrated its advantages. The event acted as an ultimate platform for networking between them for successful business transactions and for further collaboration with FPOs. About 20 startups and 90 FPOs and farmers from different places across Karnataka attended the programme.

Prof. S. Ayyappan, Chairman, Karnataka Science and Technology Academy (KSTA), Bengaluru, Karnataka and Former Secretary, DARE & DG, ICAR given presidential address. He discussed the role of profit in sustaining startups in the long run with the support of scientists for technology refinement, business planning and growth models play an important role in making a startup successful. FPOs can be considered as bulk suppliers to government agencies. 

The Chief Guest Dr M V Venkatesh, IAS, Commissioner, Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka emphasised on the importance of understanding the needs of the farmers and catering to their needs as per their requirements by developing customized products.

Dr Ch. Srinivas Rao, Director, ICAR NAARM, Hyderabad said food wastage attributes to losses worth Rs 1 lakh crore. Hence, the startup should focus on reducing food losses, making wealth out of agriculture. Value addition is a necessity to avoid post-harvest losses.

Dr. K S Mahesh, GM, NABARD, Regional Office, Bengaluru stated that FPOs are becoming the backbone of the nation and three M’s such as Monsoon, Market and Money are play major role in creating impact on farmers and FPOs.

The programme aims to connect the FPOs/

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Agrotech, India, Inputs, Sustainability

India has been advocating the values of living in harmony with nature since ancient times

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, presenting India’s point of view, addresses various sessions at the G-20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Tomar said that Government of India, under leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is addressing the sustainability challenges facing agriculture and food systems and several important initiatives have been taken to address these issues. He said that the Government of India is committed to the benefit of small and marginal farmers and many important schemes are being run for their welfare.

Tomar said that India will enable farmers to respond to current and future crises by improving their access to inputs, technology and markets.

India is committed to further the economic well-being of its farmers by organising small and marginal farmers into groups, promoting agri-startups and investments in agricultural infrastructure, launching the world’s largest crop insurance programme and conducting various activities like facilitating digitisation of agriculture. 

Tomar said that India is promoting millet cultivation considering millet’s tolerance towards harsh climatic conditions as well as their nutritional value. In the concluding session Tomar said that India has been advocating the values of living in harmony with nature since ancient times.

India has been advocating the values of

Agrotech, Logistics, Thailand

NIA encourages investment opportunities for the Thai food sector and counter global food security crisis through ‘Space – F Project‘

The National Innovation Agency (Public Organisation), Thailand or NIA is targeting the use of deep tech as the main engine to drive Bangkok towards becoming the FoodTech Silicon Valley – an innovative food hub of Southeast Asia and the world.

Dr Pun-Arj Chairatana, Executive Director of NIA said that the deep-tech business in food and agriculture continues to enjoy its equal growth as the e-commerce and fintech worldwide, the food companies in Thailand also relish robust supply chains. FoodTech startup incubation and acceleration is the key to secure global food security goals, as well as help drive Bangkok in becoming “FoodTech Silicon Valley” or “Food Innovation Hub of Southeast Asia and the World”. Dr Pun-Arj is confident that Thailand’s capital will contribute as an important meeting ground for startups and investors in advanced food technology from around the world. Bangkok will also serve significantly as a locally-sourced raw material development centre. 

Thailand has sufficient raw material to serve growing demands, the country also has a top-notch logistics service. These attributes make the Thai food industry exceptional and position Thailand as the kitchen of the world.

The utilisation of innovation and technology in the food industry is not diverse and still lacks research and development. The NIA, therefore, stepped in to encourage the use of innovation in this particular industry. Intending to feed the world through innovation, the ‘SPACE-F’ project was initiated in 2019 to incubate and accelerate the growth of FoodTech startups in Thailand. The project brings together FoodTech startups and corporates through innovative mentorship, business connections, and a co-working program. 

NIA encourages investment opportunities for the Thai

Start ups

The Kalpa Agri-Business Incubator, ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, Kerala in collaboration with Kerala start-up has jointly organised the RIBC 2.0

The Kalpa Agri-Business Incubator, ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, Kerala in collaboration with Kerala start-up has jointly organised the “Rural India Business Conclave – 2022 (RIBC 2.0)” from June, 9to 13, 2022. The Chief Guest, Rajmohan Unnithan, Member of Parliament, Kasaragod, Kerala inaugurated the Conclave.

Dr Anitha Karun, Director, ICAR-CPCRI, Kasargod briefed about the main objective of the Conclave. Dr Karun stated that the programme could network the Knowledge Partners, Entrepreneurs and Financial Institutions for the inclusive Agri-business development.

The Conclave witnessed a wide array of activities like Rural-Agri Tech Hackathon, Funder’s Talks, Expert’s Talks, Panel Discussions, Startup Pitch, Interdisciplinary Workspace for Innovative Research, Investors Meet and Dream Big Kalpa, etc.

The Institute also signed two Memorandums of Understanding during the occasion.

The Kalpa Agri-Business Incubator, ICAR-Central Plantation Crops