Bulgarian-led agritech Agriniser launches a seed round of funding through SeedBlink
Agriniser, the UK-based Bulgarian Agritech company, that has developed a digital marketplace where one can buy and sell grain, is launching a new round of funding through SeedBlink. The funds will be used to support the startup’s expansion plans, with a first goal to enter the Romanian market and acquire key talent.
Agriniser’s seed round will be launched on SeedBlink on June 23, at 10 a.m. EEST.
This new round of funding targets an amount of €500,000 and is led by Vitosha Venture Partners as a lead investor with an investment of €200,000. Agriniser is the second Bulgarian company to raise capital on the co-investing platform. Dronamics had raised more than €900,000 in December 2021 as part of its €15 million mega-round led by Eleven Ventures.
European investment platform SeedBlink opens a branch in Bulgaria
Agriniser is a digital marketplace that facilitates grain trade between grain producers on the sell side and processors, animal farmers, brokers, traders, and multinational exporters on the buy side. The agritech also provides key market information to its stakeholders in the form of weekly market reports. This has attracted international ag-data companies and reputable agencies such as Refinitiv, Barchart, and Agflow amongst others that they currently partner with.
Given the great success of Agriniser in the local market, the company is now looking to expand into a new market each year, starting with Romania, to become the leading European grain platform.
For instance, €13.6 million worth of grain has been transacted through the marketplace in the past years, with 21% of the arable land with grains, oilseed, and pulses in Bulgaria being on the marketplace. Over 1,500 grain buyers and sellers are registered in Bulgaria only.
“Agritech in Europe is growing, and Bulgaria is no exception. There is great potential to help the agricultural industry achieve efficiencies, conserve resources and ensure consumers have access to safe and healthy food. And innovation is a must. In my opinion, the sector is about to grow at a much higher speed going forward, considering the pressure on the food supply chain in the last 3 years”, says Kristian Ivanov, founder and CEO of Agriniser.
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“Europe’s agri business, and the grain trade, in particular, experiences great market inefficiencies due to low digitalization and transparency. Agriniser’s expert team and visionary product make them perfectly positioned to lead the inevitable transformation of this sector. We, at Vitosha Venture Partners, are thrilled to support them along the way.”, shares Stoyan Nedin, Venture Partner at Vitosha Venture Partners.
In addition, Agriniser is one of the 10 winners selected for EBRD’s Star Venture program in Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova, and is one of the 2 finalists from Bulgaria. The startup is also part of the Nextcelerator program dedicated to Agritech companies organized by SeedBlink, Microsoft, and Agricover.
“Many experts have recently been all over the news, telling us about the direct negative impact of the war in Ukraine together with the poor harvest in northern Africa on various crop prices. These events, however, have more than strengthened the need for a seamless, digitalized, and international crop trading platform, which is what Agriniser aspires to be.”, shares Angel Hadjiev, Managing Director at SeedBlink in Bulgaria.
The crucial need for such projects and the blossoming industry of agritech is confirmed by a recent report by PitchBook that looks into the latest emerging research and innovation in agtech. “Macroeconomic events such as the war in Ukraine are exacerbating long-term challenges around food security, including a surge in fertilizer and commodity crop prices,” points out the report. And just some facts and figures: global agritech companies collected $3.3 billion across 222 deals, marking a 15.5% quarter-over-quarter increase in deal value
