inputs

The agtech start-up received a $10m investment from the Gates Foundation to deliver a biodegradable version of its alternative input to smallholder farmers.

Partner Nicolas Denis says covid-19 has helped erode European farmers’ skepticism of buying inputs and equipment online, which only accounts for annual sales of €150m to €200m in a €138bn market.

PowerPollen already has licensing and research partnerships with Corteva and BASF and plans to market directly to individual farmers over the long term, says co-founder Todd Krone.

Unfold Bio has received an initial $30m in start-up capital from the two founders but future funding rounds could be opened up to external investors.

Senior vice-president Neil Juhnke says the sale comes after a one-year trial confirmed the facility would struggle to compete in a retail inputs market increasingly defined by consolidation and scale.

EXEO partner Izak Strauss says firms like Masimong Group Holdings that invest to promote black empowerment in South Africa are increasingly interested in agriculture.

The sale of Pinnacle Agriculture followed warnings from Moody’s that the company’s leverage threatened to bring about additional restructuring or distressed debt exchange.

Sirius Minerals claims to have the world's largest polyhalite resource, from which it will make fertiliser to export out of the UK.

The fund has brought on its second institutional investor after MainPERS confirmed an investment in the fund in September.