Italian VC firm bets €1.5m on online grocer

Italian venture capital firm Programma 101 led the investment round of agtech start up Cortilia.

Milan-based venture capital firm Programma 101 (P101) has invested €1.5 million in Cortilia, an Italian online fruit and vegetable start-up, leading a €2.5 million round.

This is the first step in a short=term €5 million investment plan, according to a P101 press release.

Cortilia’s online shopping platform connects farmers with consumers, delivering fresh produce from farmers’ locations.

“I am extremely pleased with this investment, which is the first step of an ambitious plan we agreed with both the company’s management and its shareholders,” said Andrea Di Camillo, managing partner at P101. “Cortilia represents what an investor looks for in a start-up: a young and fast growing company, operating in a very large market with an innovative business model.”

P101 is backed by two Italian investment groups: Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR, the Italian Finance Ministry’s private equity subsidiary, and Azimut, an Italian privately-held asset manager.