Regenerative ag start-up RegenX bags $500,000 to accelerate growth in Vietnam's coffee industry
The firm closed the deal with Singapore-based climate tech venture capital fund Wavemaker Impact, it announced.
Founded by CEO Bao Nguyen, RegenX aims to “revolutionise farming in South East Asia with regenerative practices”.
“The crux of having a sustainable agrifood production system is to make regenerative agriculture more profitable for farmers than conventional agriculture and to do so in a commercially viable way. Though it may seem deceptively simple, executing has always been a huge challenge. But we are now proving that it can be done,” said Nguyen.
“Bao and RegenX have proven that it is possible to create real value for farmers and offtakers alike using nature-based solutions such as regenerative agriculture,” said Doug Parker, founding partner at Wavemaker Impact.
Wavemaker Impact claims to be the first venture capital climatech venture builder in SEA. It has invested in firms such as Agros, WasteX and eFishery.
Wavemaker Impact recently announced on September 14 that it had raised $15 million from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for its debut fund.
‘A virtuous cycle’
With the infusion of funding, the firm is accelerating its journey to promote toxic-free and traceable ingredients sourced directly from regenerative farms.
Traditional farming practices, marked by the heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers and monoculture, have been detrimental to soil health.
This has resulted in a persistent decline in crop yields, posing a substantial threat to both food security and the financial well-being of farmers. In contrast, regenerative farming addresses climate adaptation and mitigation concerns.
Nonetheless, the shift towards adopting regenerative farming practices remains an intimidating task, particularly for smallholder farmers.
RegenX’s RegenX Flywheel is a system that empowers international buyers to source ingredients from regenerative farming regions that are free from harmful toxins and are fully traceable.
In turn, farmers get the help they need to implement and monitor regenerative agriculture practices, improve post-harvesting processes, and get higher farm-gate prices, enabling a virtuous cycle.
The startup aims to sequester 100 megatons of CO2e annually through this system.
“In the next decade, we'll transition six million hectares of land to regenerative agriculture in SEA and build a more resilient food production system. One that is designed to produce good quality food in a way that restores soil health, fosters more biodiversity and preserves water,” said Nguyen.
“A system that is also designed to make smallholder farmers more profitable when transitioning from conventional to regenerative farming, which ensures that the regenerative flywheel keeps going.”
