Backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others, Belgian agtech firm Aphea.bio raises €70 million

The partnership with the Gates Foundation will support the development of products designed to help farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others, Belgian agtech firm Aphea.bio raises €70 million

Working in the specialised field of microbial strains that improve plant nutrient uptake, Gent-based Aphea.bio has closed a €70 million Series C funding round.

The round was led by Innovation Industries with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Korys Investments, SFPIM, BNP Paribas Fortis participating alongside returning investors ECBF, Astanor, AIF, and additional existing shareholders. 

Since mid 2017 Aphea.bio has now raised just over €100 million. At €100 million, Aphea.Bio is Belgium’s second-highest raise this year, eclipsed only by odoo.

The partnership with the Gates Foundation is particularly noteworthy, not only in name but in the fact that it will channel the development of the company’s biostimulant products specifically to/for smallholder farmers in the foundation's priority geographies in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

A certified B Corp and counting a team of over 50 scientists and specialists under one roof, so to speak, Aphea.Bio says that the new funding will also pave the way for a further expansion of its research facilities, with a new pilot plant set to open later this year. 

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