FA Bio, the revolutionary agriculture microbial discovery and development company, win the Radicle Inclusion Challenge Presented by Nutrien, securing a $250,000 investment and access to a global network of executives with deep industry expertise who will serve as strategic partners and mentors, accelerating its pathway to success.
Radicle Growth, a company-building platform investing in early-stage agriculture and food technologies, and Nutrien, the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, provide a space for innovative and inclusive entrepreneurs creating a more sustainable food and agriculture industry. Over 130 entrepreneurs from 40 countries applied to participate in the challenge which identifies industry leaders who are spearheading technological innovation and advancement. This year was the first time the Radicle Challenge has focused on diversity and inclusion, with finalists presenting their pitches at the event held in Iowa, US, on 18th October 2022.
FA Bio is an inclusive and diverse business discovering unique soil microbes that have the potential to protect our natural ecosystems as it leads the way to developing superior microbial biofungicides and biofertilisers. Bioproducts can help to minimise agriculture’s environmental impact whilst sustainably increasing crop productivity. FA Bio is focused on discovering sustainable farming solutions that can restore the biodiversity of degraded soils and enhance or replace the activity of agrochemical inputs, revolutionising regenerative agriculture.
Dr Angela de Manzanos Guinot, CEO and Co-Founder of FA Bio said: “We are incredibly proud to have been announced as a winner of the challenge, having competed against some inspirational businesses in front of leading industry experts. It was a great experience and receiving the investment and access to valuable industry expertise will help FA Bio scale up our discovery projects to discover sustainable alternatives to agrochemicals. Revolutionising sustainable agriculture and addressing the challenge of climate change by pushing the industry to embrace new innovations, can ensure global food security without destroying our ecosystems.”
Kirk Haney, CEO & Managing Partner at Radicle Growth comments: “The Radicle and Nutrien teams are thrilled to be working with two fantastic companies focused on driving innovation and inclusion in agriculture. As the industry continues to face challenges, we are ready to play an active role and help these two great leaders in targeting a massive global market opportunity and achieve their individual missions. We are incredibly grateful to all participants in the Challenge and to the diverse group of entrepreneurs who are putting inclusion at the forefront of their work. FA Bio is making a real difference in the evolution of agriculture and we are happy to be supporting them on this next stage of their journey.”
FA Bio
FA Bio is a creative and curious entrepreneurial business with a vision to protect the natural ecosystems we need to sustain life by identifying superior microbial biofungicides and biofertilisers. Utilising their innovative SporSenZ technology, their unique targeted microbial sampling strategy allows them to collect data and microbial isolates from agricultural fields to build a database of the soil microbial community. With a team of dedicated expert scientists, who carry out skilled genomic, microbiological and biochemical experiments, FA Bio use their database to characterise agricultural bioproducts.
Radicle Growth
Radicle Growth selects innovative, early-stage companies for investment, ensuring that disruptive ag tech & food tech companies reach their full potential. In addition to providing seed-stage capital, Radicle Growth provides a fertile environment for visionaries in the ag and food space to flourish. Their proprietary platform is one of a kind in the ag and food industry, filling a huge void in the market by identifying the most innovative technologies and accelerating them with a range of value-creation initiatives. To connect and learn more about Radicle Growth follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
Nutrien
Nutrien is the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, playing a critical role in helping growers increase food production in a sustainable manner. We produce and distribute approximately 27 million tons of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products world-wide. With this capability and our leading agriculture retail network, we are well positioned to supply the needs of our customers. We operate with a long-term view and are committed to working with our stakeholders as we address our economic, environmental, and social priorities. The scale and diversity of our integrated portfolio provides a stable earnings base, multiple avenues for growth and the opportunity to return capital to shareholders. Learn more at www.nutrien.com
