Key Drivers of Agri-Food Venture Success

“Fail fast” is fatal in agriculture. The recent piece in AgTechNavigator highlights what many in our field already know: the Silicon Valley mantra doesn’t translate to the farm. For growers, a failed trial isn’t a pivot…it’s a season lost, margins cut, and trust eroded. (https://lnkd.in/egFD5pEZ) Jason Weller of JBS is right to call out the “last mile” as agtech’s chasm of death. Too often, we see brilliant platforms and biologicals stuck in demo mode because they never reach the farmer in a way that fits real agronomic, economic, and social conditions. From my perspective, three truths stand out: 1. Trust is the technology. Without agronomists, cooperatives, and farmer networks backing innovation, no sensor or microbe will gain traction. 2. Adoption is the bottleneck. Farmers don’t need promises they need proof of profitability, reliability, and integration into existing practices. 3. Partnerships are infrastructure. Public–private alliances, like Brazil’s traceability accelerator, are what convert point solutions into systemic change. This is where Corporate Venture Capital must evolve. Investing is not enough! We need to de-risk adoption, co-develop solutions with farmers, and measure success in hectares, yields, and resilience, not just valuations. AgriFoodTech innovation will only move the needle when adoption barriers are treated as seriously as invention. Because in ag, there is no MVP. There is only trust…or failure. #AgriFoodTech #CVC #InnovationStrategy #Sustainability #StartupScaling

Before you invest a single dollar into Nigeria’s agrifood sector, hear this, because I’ve seen people lose money, and blame everyone else, not because the opportunity wasn’t real, but because they didn’t understand the terrain. Number one: Agriculture here is not plug-and-play. It’s not enough to copy a model from another country. You need a Nigeria-specific approach, one that accounts for external factors (like temperature, humidity, rain patterns even sunlight), infrastructure gaps, seasonal challenges, and market behaviors. Number two: Get your buyer first before production. I repeat, don't produce because everybody eats o, everybody doesn't eat. Don’t fall into the trap of producing without buyers. Always start with your end-user in mind, who are they, what do they need, and can they pay for it? Number three: Everything rises and falls on logistics, Everything. If you can’t move your goods, especially perishables, you’ll lose before you scale. Infact, spend 95% of your time perfecting your logistics and 5% for the rest. Number four: You would see anything till the 4th year! One of the biggest myths is that you’ll invest in 6 months or 1 year and cash out. It doesn’t work that way. Agrifood is a long-term play. It takes time to build systems, build trust, and build returns. Think 3 to 5 years, not 6 to 12 months. If you bring a short-term mindset into a long-term business, you’ll exit with regret and blame everyone for not being trustworthy. And number five: Relationships move things here. From land access to export approvals, nothing substitutes strong, trusted partnerships. Success is all about network. Nigeria’s agrifood sector is filled with opportunity, but only for those who respect the process. Enter with patience, build with wisdom, and your returns will come. #feeding900millionpeopledaily #investinginafrica

Building a deep-tech company isn’t just about the science or technology. It’s about execution. When Unshackled Ventures first met Tony Martens Fekini & Maurits van de Ven, the co-founders of Plantible Foods, all they had was a PowerPoint presentation with a bold vision: Create a sustainable & resilient agri-food supply that produces functional ingredients that outperform the status quo. Their idea? Leveraging Lemna (duckweed 🌱) to unlock one of the most sought-after proteins “RuBisCO” or as the company calls it, Rubi Protein — A natural enzyme that can outperform animal proteins & synthetic ingredients nutritionally & functionally & is scalable and affordable to produce. ✅ The opportunity was clear. ❌ The challenge? No one had ever developed a manufacturing process like this before, let alone commercialized this protein. That’s where execution made the difference. From day one Tony & Maurits weren’t just thinking about the science, they were obsessed with how to scale efficiently to de-risk the business. Recently, I visited Plantible’s first-of-a-kind manufacturing facility, the Ranchito, in West Texas. A few years ago, this land was just an empty field. Today, it’s a masterclass in how clear prioritization frameworks can effectively drive your execution — Home to 1,800+ ft long greenhouses cultivating Lemna at scale, a highly automated downstream processing system, & a modular, repeatable, cost-effective production line fulfilling tens of millions worth of commercial agreements from both multinational and private companies. This wasn’t built overnight & it wasn’t easy. Before breaking ground at Ranchito, they validated every step of the supply chain at a smaller scale — Refining their greenhouse design, optimizing labor, & perfecting environmental controls. Every decision was intentional. Some key takeaways for founders ⬇️ ⚠️ Premature scaling is one of the biggest reasons startups fail. Rigorous validation ensures that when you do scale, you’re ready! Plantible never rushed into full-scale deployment. To this day, they continue to build in phases, iterating on key infrastructure, and proving scalability before making heavy capital investments. ⚠️ Engineer for efficiency. Every process, system, & decision should be designed with cost, repeatability, and operational simplicity in mind. At Plantible, efficiency is engineered into every part of their business. For example, instead of building a one-off facility, Ranchito is designed as a repeatable blueprint that can be expanded or replicated cost-effectively. ⚠️Developing value propositions that extend beyond sustainability are critical. Yes, environmentalism is important, but if your only weapons are sustainability, you will run into a lot of challenges. Taste & cost-in use remain the most critical drivers in the food space. If you are a founder building something bold & thinking through your vision as deeply as execution, let’s connect! 🚀

Everyone thinks the biggest challenge in African agriculture is land, or capital, or even access to markets. The truth is the real currency of agribusiness is trust. When a buyer in Berlin signs for a container of cocoa, they are not buying beans. They are buying provenance, predictability, and proof. That demand for proof has quietly become the primary determinant of value in global agricultural markets. Trust is not sentimental. It is commercial. It determines who gets premium prices, who wins long-term contracts, and who gains access to regulated markets. Without verifiable provenance, farmers and exporters lose negotiating power; with it, they earn premiums, attract investment, and unlock credit on better terms. Three practical mechanics convert crops into trust. First, provenance. Digital traceability, farmer IDs, harvest stamps, batch records, and immutable ledgers turn a product into a verifiable story. A buyer wants to know where a bean was grown, how it was treated, and who benefited. When that story can be checked in real time, market gates open. Second, standards. Certification and measurable quality metrics create comparability. Standards harmonized across buyers and borders remove friction. They turn informal supply chains into predictable pipelines that serious buyers can rely on. Third, data for finance. Lenders and buyers increasingly underwrite deals on verified performance data. A farmer with a documented track record is not an anonymous risk; they become a credible counterparty, enabling working capital, equipment finance, and scaling. These are not abstract prescriptions. In the field, I have seen cooperatives transform from price takers into partners once transparent aggregation and traceability were in place. The implication for leaders is straightforward. Investment decisions should prioritize trust infrastructure as aggressively as they prioritize seed or machinery. Build farmer registries that are interoperable. Fund cold-chain nodes tied to traceable lots. Standardize quality dimensions so buyers and regulators speak the same language. Partner with technology providers who understand local realities, not just global solutions. Treat trust as capital, and you will build markets that last. #Agribusiness #Traceability #FoodSystems #InyeneBenson

Everyone knows where agrifood tech investing lost money. But where will value be created? In Issue #127 of Better Bioeconomy, I sat down with Yoni Glickman, Managing Partner at PeakBridge. Yoni is one of the few investors who has built billion-dollar ingredient businesses and venture portfolios from the inside out. In our chat, we unpacked which agrifood tech theses misfired, where value is quietly compounding, and how PeakBridge evaluates companies in AI and proven nutrition. Five insights that stood out: 1. Overhyped versus underinvested: The sectors that drew the most capital were not the ones with the strongest economics. Vertical farming, insect protein, and commodity precision fermentation ran into structural cost and demand issues. Meanwhile, food waste tools and speciality nutrition ingredients built traction because they solve real buyer pain with clear ROI. 2. How AI actually becomes a value-add in food: AI works when it fits into existing workflows and proves measurable returns. Tools that require teams to change how they work rarely scale. Yoni is also cautious about AI discovery platforms with long timelines and consulting-style revenue. The science may be interesting, but slow cycles and weak value capture limit their VC appeal. The winners plug into procurement, R&D, marketing, or operations and deliver hard metrics. 3. How food as medicine becomes proven nutrition, not wellness noise: The space becomes investable when three things align: a meaningful health condition, strong science including human data, and full control over the supply chain. Without all three, the risk profile looks more like wellness than true nutrition infrastructure. 4. Regulation and CAPEX must be designed in from day one: Regulatory paths shape timelines, claims, and CAPEX needs. Some ingredient technologies can scale with outsourced extraction or existing facilities, while others require heavy manufacturing investment. Matching the regulatory plan with a realistic build path is core to viability. 5. Most successful exits in agrifood will be strategic M&A, not IPOs: PeakBridge maps potential acquirers from the first cheque. Different buyers optimise for EBITDA, market share, scientific advantage, or proprietary data. The strongest founders hold both a long-term independent vision and a clear understanding of who might buy them and why. Read the full article and subscribe to my free newsletter for weekly insights on how tech is transforming food and ag:  https://lnkd.in/gNUWHvS2

Agriculture is being violently reshaped. There are 4 key drivers. 1. Markets Global demand is shifting. Climate volatility, trade policy, and changing consumer expectations (traceability, sustainability, health) are turning once-stable markets into moving targets. 2. Finance Access to capital is becoming a competitive advantage. Whether it's carbon markets, green finance, or private equity, farms with financial fluency will move faster and outcompete. 3. Biology Biological development is accelerating. From nitrogen-fixing microbes to precision designed seeds, biology is the new engine of productivity. New crops and even markets will be created by emerging biotech advances. 4. Technology Remote sensing, forecasting, autonomy. Tools that help growers make better decisions and drive efficiencies. For growers, the challenge will be how fast can your enterprise adapt. The next 10 years will reward operators who are open to change, build good partnerships and remain commercially curious.

Most farmers are poor, not because farming doesn’t pay, but because they refuse to treat it like a business. Many farmers still see farming as just a way of life, not a business. They farm to “eat and share” rather than to produce, package, market, and scale. If you want to change that story, here’s how: ✅ Plan like a CEO Too many farmers just “hope” their harvest will sell. A CEO doesn’t hope—he plans. He runs feasibility studies, checks his numbers, knows his production costs, and has a sales plan before planting. Farmers must start asking: What’s the demand? Who will buy? At what price? Farming without planning is gambling. ✅ Keep financial and production records Most farmers can’t tell you how much profit they made last season. Why? Because they don’t keep records. Every seed bought, every fertilizer bag, every hired labor, every harvest sold—write it down. Without records, you’re blind. Records are the mirror of your farm business. ✅ Study your market and sell with strategy This is the biggest wealth leak. Farmers harvest and rush to sell at whatever price the middleman offers. But successful agripreneurs study market trends, identify peak demand times, and even negotiate supply contracts before harvest. Selling without strategy keeps you poor; marketing smart puts you in control. ✅ Build a brand people can trust Middlemen profit because they package and brand what the farmer produces. Imagine if farmers branded their produce, gave it consistency, and built trust with consumers. A tomato is not just a tomato—it can be “farm-fresh, chemical-free, trusted produce from XYZ Farms.” Branding adds value. ✅ Adopt innovations that reduce cost and increase yield Many farmers are stuck with “how our fathers did it.” The problem? The world has moved on. Greenhouse systems, drip irrigation, precision farming, and improved seeds exist to increase yield and reduce waste. Refusing to innovate is refusing to grow. ✅ Reinvest profits for growth This one hurts the most. Farmers sell, pocket the money, and use it for personal expenses. Then, the next season, they’re back to square one—borrowing to plant. Real businesses reinvest their profits to scale. Until farmers see profits as capital for expansion, they will remain small. The truth is: farming is not just about planting. It’s about strategy. You don’t just need hands in the soil; you need a mind for business. Until farmers shift their mindset, they will keep working hard but staying poor. #Agribusiness #FarmersMindset #AgricultureBusiness #SmartFarming #FoodSecurity #FarmToWealth #BusinessGrowth