Dutch agritech startup Satelligence gets $2.3 million to reform supply chains and protect biodiversity

Utrecht-based agritech startup Satelligence has received $2.3 million from Dutch investor 4impact and the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme to help push institutions toward sustainable agriculture.

Since consumers care more about the environmental impact of the products they buy, says the startup, then the corporations and financial institutions overseeing those products are forced to pay more attention, too. Satelligence helps those corporates in the food and agriculture industries identify environmental risks in their supply chains and take meaningful action. Environmental risks include deforestation, vegetation fires, floods and other forms of ecosystem degradation.  The software leverages insights based on satellite and supply chain asset data, machine learning and human intelligence to give real-time reports So far the company serves customers including Mondelez, Unilever, Bunge, WorldBank, Rabobank, Robeco, World Wildlife Fund, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Commodities covered include palm oil, cocoa, soy, rubber, beef, biomass, pulp and paper. With the new funding, the agritech startup aims to “to service new commodities and markets and cover more risks beyond deforestation and vegetation fires,” says founder and CEO Niels Wielaard. Founded in 2016, the business also operates from offices in Indonesia, Ghana and Bolivia.