Pioneering Ventures, the Switzerland and India-based agriculture food-focussed firm, is relaunching as Innoterra, a food and technology platform that will seek to leverage its various divisions to drive data-driven impact for farmers and end-customers.
Innoterra said this move will combine Pioneering Ventures’ experience with farming communities with the capabilities of its recently incubated financial services and technology divisions.
In a statement, the platform company said its aim is to improve production and distribution of healthy food using fewer resources, while ensuring equitable value distribution for all its stakeholders across the agri value chain.
One of the core components of this move involves consolidating the companies that Pioneering Ventures has incubated under one umbrella entity. These include Desai AgriFoods, Samaaru, Farmlink, Milklane, and Lateral Praxis.
“While developing and rolling out our platform, we will continue to scale up our food operations in India and further expand our sourcing and distribution footprint in regions such as the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and in China,” Innoterra India chairman Akshaya Kamath said.
“At Innoterra, we’re certainly looking at…how we can really democratise access to our platforms in ways that drive really positive outcomes, for farmers in particular,” Innoterra chief impact officer Meagan Fallone added in an interaction with VCCircle.
Innoterra says it will achieve its goals through several methods. For example, it has already rolled out a 360-degree solution for farmers and rural entrepreneurs. It will also facilitate solutions such as farm management training and education, networking, improved access to farm inputs, infrastructure, and financial services including affordable loans.
Through its platform divisions that include fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy products, Innoterra claims daily production of over 450 tons of food that reach more than 1.5 million consumers. It also engages more than 15,000 farmer families, and maintains a geographical footprint in 14 countries.
Prior to the relaunch, Innoterra made several strategic moves from an acquisitions and talent perspective. In May last year, the firm (as Pioneering Ventures) acquired Lateral Praxis, whose analytical and reporting dashboards allow players in the agri-business ecosystem to monitor trends, track history, and ensure currency throughout supply chains.
Then, in December, it elevated an Indian executive - Yashasvini Kumar - to the position of group general counsel and chief of compliance. In January, it roped in former Yes Bank executive Nitin Puri to head its digital market initiatives in the business-to-business and business-to-consumer segments across several categories.
In July 2019, VCCircle reported that the firm had taken control of Desai Fruits & Vegetables Pvt Ltd, a company that it had incubated more than a decade ago.
