Agtech Innovation announces startups chosen for Intensive Connection 2022

In it's fourth edition, the program had more than 200 startups subscribed and 13 were selected in Latin America

Abril 20, 2022

By Marina Salles and Vitor Lima

The Intensive Connection Latam program, carried out in partnership between AgTech Garage - the largest innovation hub specialized in agribusiness in Latin America - and seven companies - leaders in their segments and with activities related to agribusiness -, announces the 13 startups that will be part of a high-level cooperation journey over the following seven months.

In conjunction with AgTech Garage, Brazilian companies Suzano, of the pulp and paper segment, the cooperative and financial institution Sicredi, the American machinery company John Deere, the Moroccan fertilizer player OCP, the French animal health company Ceva, the global agribusiness and food company Bunge and the German health and nutrition multinational Bayer, selected cutting-edge technology startups to collaborate on their innovation challenges.

Reference in open innovation

A reference in Brazil, the Intensive Connection is the main open innovation program in the country's agriculture and reaches its fourth edition this year. This time, more than 200 Latin American startups signed up to participate and 33 became finalists. José Tomé, CEO of AgTech Garage, says that the number of registrations for the Intensive Connection remained at the high level reached in 2021, of more than two hundred ag&foodtechs, which mostly applied for more than one challenge proposed by the seven companies. Bayer had more than 100 entries for its challenges. John Deere and Sicredi passed 80 each, and OCP surpassed 70 entries.

_{José Tomé, CEO at AgTech Garage}

“It was a super competitive edition that demanded a lot of work from our team and partners to not miss any details and potential opportunities. If the partner chose two startups to work with at a high level of engagement during the year, it is the Intensive Connection startups. We are proud of the commitment our partners have to the innovation ecosystem and with the value generated for the startups”, he says.

Nowadays, AgTech Garage already has more than 900 ag&foodtechs connected to its digital platform, and leads with community partners a new dynamic in favor of innovation in agribusiness. Henrique Provenzzano, Coordinator of Open Innovation Programs at AgTech Garage, recalls that the selected startups have access via IC to mentorships, networking, exclusive events, connections and all the support of AgTech Garage and corporate partners to improve their solutions and gain scalability as they go along throughout the program that aims to boost startups.

The proximity between companies and ag&foodtechs during the Intensive Connection can also result in proofs of concept (POCs), deals, co-development of new technological solutions and even investments, all to boost the sustainability and competitiveness in agribusiness. The Intensive Connection program is equity-free. It means it does not require equity participation in the startups.

_{Henrique Provenzzano, Programs Coordinator at AgTech Garage}

This year, in addition to all this support provided by AgTech Garage, the interaction of different areas of the companies with the hub will be incorporated into the program. “By definition, open innovation goes beyond the walls of organizations, but it is necessary to intensify the transformation from the inside out. Keeping in touch with the partners' Human Resources, Legal, IT, Communications and Procurement areas, we want to help leverage the innovation strategy designed by the catalysts and leaders who already interact with us,” says Provenzzano.

Another novelty is the return of face-to-face meetings between the program's catalysts and the AgTech Garage team. In the first Innovation Talks of this edition, the group had the opportunity to discuss management methodologies for projects and successful cases from previous editions face to face. “It is a great opportunity to be together again and one of the focuses of the conversation was on the even more collaborative management of Intensive Connection projects, with partners sharing different innovation management methodologies”, says Provenzzano.

The exchange of experiences between partners has been increasing year after year, with the maturity of the program and the participating companies (six had already participated in previous editions). The newest entrant is John Deere, which in 2022 joined the select group of companies that carry out the Intensive Connection alongside the AgTech Garage.

Suzano: Forestry professional in the present and in the future

In this edition of the program, Suzano sought solutions to ensure the sustainability of operations and develop professionals to work with forest 4.0. The company, a global reference in the manufacture of bioproducts developed from the cultivation of eucalyptus, selected the startups RD3 Digital, one of the pioneers in the development and application of augmented and virtual reality technologies in Brazil, and Oniria, a technology startup that operates in the B2B model with a focus on the industry and offers training and professional engagement services.

_{Gabriel Paulo de Souza, Forest Operational Excellence Coordinator at Suzano}

Gabriel Paulo de Souza, Forest Operational Excellence Coordinator at Suzano, reveals that the two selected startups came from a universe of more than 60 applicants and exceeded expectations regarding their thematic challenges. “The program has proved to be an excellent channel for collaboration between the business opportunities presented by Suzano and the open innovation ecosystem. We even see multiple applications for the proposed solutions that go beyond the challenge presented, and show great convergence with the trends of the agribusiness market”, he says.

According to him, the pitch reinforced the interest of startups in the challenge of training and developing forestry professionals. “From now on, we expect a direct alignment with startups to develop a successful POC, which is going to generate value for Suzano as well as learning and technical gains for the selected startups”, he says.

Sicredi: Driving a sustainable future

Sicredi, guided by the principles of cooperativism and its sustainable management strategy, this time selected VEGA and Busca Terra. The two startups have solutions to diagnose the potential of the small producer in the generation of carbon credits and access to Payments for Environmental Services (PES). In the case of VEGA, the core is the delivery of cadastral data crossed with a geo-spatial view of agricultural properties, with the objective of tracing the origin of the agribusiness production chain integrated with sustainability indicators within ERP systems. Busca Terra is an agtech that aims to mitigate risks in the financial operations of rural properties through the integration, analysis and availability of information about these agricultural assets.

_{Luis Henrique Veit, Agribusiness Superintendent at Sicredi}

For Luis Henrique Veit, Superintendent of Agribusiness at Sicredi, the evolution in the maturity and quality of the agtechs' pitches in these four years of partnership with Agtech Garage is evident. “It was a great challenge to select just two finalist startups and we raised the bar. We see great potential for delivering results in VEGA and Busca Terra solutions, which were instantly connected with Sicredi's agribusiness strategy, with internal initiatives mapped and opportunities identified with our associates”, he says.

According to Veit, the active participation of AgTech Garage in the selection was also essential to curating the startups. “It is worth highlighting the excellence of the AgTech Garage team during the process, contributing with methodologies and tools for evaluating startups, which helped us in decision making”, he says.

OCP: Feed the soil to feed the planet

The OCP theme was the democratization of the access to fertilizers by the farmer and support for their digitization with marketplace solutions to generate insights and market intelligence. Regarding these themes, the company selected Grão Direto, a leading platform in the digital marketing of grains in Latin America, and Itatijuca, biotech specialized in optimizing the use of microorganisms in industrial processes.

_{Ademir Bazzotti, Logistics Director of OCP in Brazil}

Ademir Bazzotti, Logistics Director of OCP in Brazil, says that the expectation is now to work together with the two startups to develop solutions that bring benefits to the rural producer. “These startups fit perfectly into OCP's vision of putting the producer at the center of our attention. We believe that, in fact, we will deliver products and services that help them to produce more – in a sustainable way – and that anticipate market trends, increasing their profitability. In addition, the interactions will certainly bring learning to the internal areas of OCP, which are very excited about the selected projects”, says Bazzotti.

According to the OCP executive, the company is very confident about the expected deliveries. “In this fourth edition OCP participates in the Intensive Connection, we have reached an exceptional level of startups adhering to our challenge. From the application to the pitch day, we could see that the startup leaders prepare well for the program and really want to develop sustainable and valuable businesses with OCP as a partner of choice ”, he highlights. 

Ceva: Understand and follow the clients demands

Ceva, which was looking for new services for customer loyalty focused on animal welfare, environment and management took the first step towards approaching eHorus, real-time market intelligence to optimize decision-making in consumer goods industries and retail, and VEGA, a startup that offers specialized solutions in technology, sector consulting services and corporate management practices for different segments, also chosen by Sicredi.

_{Giankleber S. Diniz, CEO of Ceva in Brazil}

For Giankleber S. Diniz, CEO of Ceva in Brazil, the selected startups presented solid projects with full capacity to meet the challenge proposed by Ceva, of nothing less than transforming data into relevant information to serve its customers with excellence.

“The Intensive Connection is an important driver for innovation in agribusiness. The cooperation between companies and startups contributes to accelerating the digitization of the field, which is fundamental to meet the growing demand of the sector. We are proud to support and be part of this initiative”, he says.

Bunge: The paths of the new logistics

In the case of Bunge, whose focus was on logistical solutions for the optimization, digitization and sustainability of its processes, the chosen startups were Membran-i and Flowls. Membran-i develops innovative and technological solutions to facilitate and simplify purchasing processes, making them more automated, efficient and assertive. While Flowls provides solutions for the management, automation and integration of logistics and foreign trade operations flows from a Saas platform.

_{Makoto Yokoo, Director of Logistics at Bunge}

Makoto Yokoo, Logistics Director at Bunge, says that the technical quality of the participating entrepreneurs was impressive. “We believe that people – more than technology itself – are the main factor for digital transformation and we were very excited to see that the entrepreneurs we selected also believe and live this belief”, he says.

He reinforces that the exchange with the selected startups can contribute to the optimization of processes and value generation for Bunge's logistics operation. “We know that, due to Bunge's size and scale, the challenges are huge, but we are excited about the possibilities that will open up from the interaction with the selected startups. We are sure that it will be a process of mutual learning, with benefits for all involved”, completes Makoto.

Bayer: Collaboration of digital platforms in the field

For Bayer, the journey continues alongside AgTrace and Auravant, which will meet the company's demand for traceability and integration of digital platforms. AgTrace is a traceability and food safety platform that digitizes information on the production chain and facilitates the visualization and monitoring of processes. Argentina's Auravant offers an integrated digital solutions platform for producers and large companies to couple different solutions.

_{Dirceu Ferreira Junior, Open Innovation Leader in the Agricultural Division of Bayer Latam}

Dirceu Ferreira Junior, Open Innovation Leader at Bayer's Agricultural Division for Latin America, highlights the value that the company sees in cooperation with Latam startups, which even led to the choice of choosing a Brazilian and an Argentine agtech. “As in previous years, Bayer has been an anchor company, attracting a large number of startups interested in the program. We took advantage of this good moment together with AgTech Garage to have a greater coverage outside Brazil and in other Latin American countries. We want to embrace the region more and more”, he attests. Bayer's objective is to involve emerging companies in reference projects for the company, which invests heavily in open innovation.

“Intensive Connection has been a success and helps us to strengthen one of Bayer's main strategic pillars, innovation. For us, open innovation makes it possible to create new tools for today's challenges. And it is with the expertise of brilliant startups that we are able to create, together, new solutions to shape the future of agriculture”, he says. In previous years, Bayer selected startups that are now consolidated in the market, such as Perfect Flight, Safe Trace, Sensix, Farmbox, Já Entendi and My Farm Agro.

John Deere: Digitizing the field, a 360º view of the farm operation

In its first year at Intensive Connection, John Deere launched the challenge of digitalization in the field with a 360º view of the agricultural operation, which was embraced by startups Cromai and SciCrop, those selected by the company. Cromai, a precision agriculture and computational intelligence company, specializes in identifying weeds in sugarcane crops and is expanding its market for soy. SciCrop explores the integration of data and algorithms to generate business value analytics using artificial intelligence.

_{Emanuel Ritter, Value Creation Manager & Open Innovation Leader at John Deere}

Emanuel Ritter, John Deere's Value Creation Manager & Open Innovation Leader for Latin America, reaffirms the company's commitment to generating value for the entrepreneurial ecosystem. With great satisfaction, he reinforces that the company had 82 startups enrolled in its challenge and will continue to monitor even those that were not selected this time. “It was an arduous task to select just two startups in Intensive Connection, as there are many brilliant solutions that can be interesting for producers”, he says.

“We are now looking forward to starting mentoring projects and processes with Cromai and SciCrop, to identify their key needs and connect them with John Deere's internal areas. This interaction of new companies with a thought leader of over 185 years adds a lot of value to all parties involved”, he says.

During the programe, John Deere also plans to connect the chosen startups with concessionaires and customers, in order to enable them to carry out proofs of concepts in the field, focusing on the generation of shared value for the entire agribusiness chain, wich starts with the farmer. “John Deere wants to be the bridge between the innovative solutions that will emerge and the crops, mainly through open innovation”, concludes Ritter.