Nupo Ventures

📊 Unearthing the Business Value in Fostering Sustainability 🌱🌐    In today's economically uncertain world, sustainability is a beacon of opportunity for businesses. ESG metrics are commonplace, we see a positive correlation between business performance and sustainability.   To elevate their business value, businesses should consider three actionable strategies:    1️⃣ Driving Brand Value with Solid ESG metrics:   Brands investing in sustainability resonate with conscious consumers and receive premium pricing.     NielsenIQ found products with ESG-related claims had a 1.7 percentage point increase in CAGR compared to those with none. The shift towards sustainability is influential; 78% of consumers express its importance. They are also 64% more likely to recommend a business with sustainable practices.    Experienced investors also look for transparent, sustainable businesses, with 85% of chief investors saying strong ESG metrics were crucial. Companies with clearer ESG goals and pathways are more highly valuated.    2️⃣ Create a Superior Business Model with Circular Design:   Embracing the circular economy is a transformative step towards value creation. By minimizing waste and extending product lifecycles, industry heavyweights like Patagonia and Levi Strauss & Co. are setting a new standard. Approximately 79% of Patagonia buyers have brand loyalty, partly due to their supply chain transparency. Circular design requires a holistic approach, encompassing product design, packaging, and supply chain strategies.     Other companies IKEA and Unilever have also committed to incorporating circularity while still driving profits. IKEA’s Take-Back program allows minimization of costs through recycling/repurposing of furniture. It's about doing more with less, benefiting both the business and the environment.    3️⃣ Influencing Sustainable Consumer Behaviors:   Industry leaders like Carlsberg, Disney, and Walmart are at the forefront of shaping sustainable consumer practices. Their tactics also differ. Disney, for instance, with its 'Track my T' application, educates young consumers on the journey of their organic T-shirts in an engaging manner. This is an example of overt influence, where consumers are directly realizing the environmental impact of their purchases.     However, within the carbon footprint discourse, there is consumer pushback saying companies are the primary polluters. This is why businesses can help consumers change their impact without them changing their lifestyles. For example, Carlsberg is committed to reducing its carbon footprint through innovative brewing techniques. Additionally, McKinsey found that 60% of consumers will pay more for products with sustainable packaging.    By integrating sustainability seamlessly into products and services, businesses can drive positive change while reaping the rewards of a thriving business. 🌍💡 #Sustainability #ValueCreation #Business #ESG #StartUp

On the 14th of June, Singapore’s southern shorelines were confronted with a 400-tonne oil spill, after a tanker crashed. Around the world, there have been 27 oil spills since 2020. They endanger aquatic life and contaminate soil, water, and air— and the secondary effects last years. For Singapore, this means dying coral reef, and the suffering of local birds and lizards. Now more than ever, we need innovative solutions that can mitigate the impact of such ecological disasters and reduce our global dependence on oil. Here are some ways that ventures are contributing: 1. Satellite Monitoring🛰️ This allows for more accurate information on spills, leading to more effective responses.  2. Biomicrogels🧫 These break down oils and make oil recovery more efficient.   3. Physical Absorbents🧽 Having absorbents makes oil cleanup much faster, especially over large spills. Continuing to deploy cutting-edge solutions that solve challenges arising from oil spills helps work towards the greater goal of promoting long-term green initiatives. Venture studios like ours can play a crucial role in fostering such ideas. Join us in our commitment to creating a sustainable future. Together, we can make a significant difference in safeguarding our planet. #OilSpill #Sustainability #Agritech #Innovation #Startups

How environmentally friendly are the items on your plate? 🍽️ Gastronomy is the art and culture of food, and it is important that we foster a culture of sustainability in the food we eat. On Sustainable Gastronomy Day, we think about how to optimize our food supply chains such that it promotes the SDGs. Here are some easy ways to practice sustainable gastronomy: 🧑🌾 Choose Local: Support your regional farmers by buying seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients. This builds up the local economy, and ensures that your purchase does not have excessive transport emissions. ♻️Minimize Waste: Plan your meals well, use or repurpose leftovers, and compost! Reducing food waste in these simple ways contributes greatly. 🌱Plant-based Meals: Incorporate more plant-based meals in your life. Not only is it healthy, but it also releases less waste and energy to produce. 📚Educate and Speak Out: Learn about sustainable practices and why they are so important. Share this crucial knowledge with your community to drive change. We also recognize the importance of optimizing global supply chains for greater sustainability. That’s why Nupo Ventures is dedicated to creating innovative solutions that address this need directly. With our ventures such as Terrascope and TRACT , we want to ensure food production embodies end-to-end sustainability— from the moment a seed is planted until it is presented on your dinner plate. Together, we can cultivate responsible gastronomy and celebrate sustainability 🌿🍓🍅    #Agriculture #Sustainability #Innovation #ClimateAction #SupplyChain   

It’s true: we need to unite to scale regenerative agriculture to measure up for a greener future.    Collaboration is key among various players in the agricultural value chain, including alignment within BigAg.    We need to bring about an industry-wide consensus where stakeholders can address environmental issues.     “The need to agree on how to quantify environmental and socio-economic outcomes will unlock the financing and policy needs that are essential for this transition and strengthen corporate accountability.”    TRACT , one of our portfolio companies, is solving this problem.      TRACT is a sustainability measurement platform that aims to simplify sustainability reporting and enhance supply chain performance for the Food & Ag sector.     The company is working towards building a common industry agreement on sustainability definitions and ESG metrics in agriculture, enabling value chain partners to focus more on driving positive impact.      This improves traceability and transparency and will give users radically simplified sustainability oversight for reporting and allow them to focus on the most important task: impact delivery.    Allison Kopf, TRACT’s CEO, said: “The work we’re doing is far reaching, from soy to coffee to cotton, every supply chain has an opportunity for more sustainable production.”    Regenerative agriculture has the potential to avert the impending socio-economic and environmental crises our world is heading towards.     By aligning common metrics and building stakeholder collaboration, we can accelerate this transition to sustainable agriculture.     To learn more about TRACT, visit their website. Link in comments.  https://lnkd.in/e9NKMwJn #Agriculture #Sustainability #Agritech #Innovation #Startups

How do we encourage young people to be the future leaders of the sustainability space? 🤔 By giving them the opportunity to engage with the industry and let their solutions be heard.  This is what Professor Chiara Spina’s students did as part of their Master's in Management Program, where they undertook their final project in their Corporate Entrepreneurship class. 📃 On the 6th of June, Nupo Ventures’ VP Priyanka Mukherjee and Venture Architect Kennard L. were invited to INSEAD's Singapore Campus to assess a venture-building challenge we posed to them. They were tasked to explore ‘Digital Business Opportunities driven by the Sustainable Consumerism Trend’ and provide a 7-minute business proposal inspired by Nupo Ventures’ goals and visions. 🌞 The ideas presented were fresh, and explored a wide range of topics such as:  - Creating inventory management systems to better tackle food wastage  - Building AI solutions for cotton farmers to help them adapt to changing climates  - Making sustainable packing more accessible to SME businesses in Indonesia  - Leveraging emerging technologies to support farmers with capacity building and training etc. Priyanka and Kennard provided advice on building compelling business models for the eco-industry and suggested possible future directions to improve each of these ideas and their execution plans. An open line of communication between industry experts and young entrepreneurs ensures that as the field continues to grow, future innovations are being set up for success (benefitting all of us!). 🌿 Thank you to Professor Chiara for having us, and the students for letting us hear their wonderful ideas!  .  .  .  .  #Entrepreneurship #Sustainability #Agritech #Innovation #Startups

🎉 Congratulations to Terrascope for being selected as one of the 2024 Indo-Pacific Climate Tech 100 Companies! 🌏🌱 This prestigious recognition highlights your outstanding contributions to climate technology and sustainable innovation. Being named among the top 100 companies in the Indo-Pacific region is a testament to the entire team's dedication, innovation, and unwavering commitment to addressing the pressing challenges of climate change. We are excited to see how you continue to lead the way in creating a more sustainable and resilient future. Here's to many more achievements and milestones! 🚀👏 #ClimateTech #Sustainability #Innovation #IndoPacificClimateTech100 #StartupSuccess #GreenFuture

Happy #WorldEnvironmentDay 2024! 🌏🌳🐛    This year, the United Nations brings our attention to desertification. Due to climate change, fertile land degrades into an arid and non-biological environment, resulting in:  - decreased water and air quality  - food insecurity  - the demise of people’s health.     Land restoration and drought resilience are crucial to fighting this.     Here are a few interventions and innovations addressing these pressing issues:  1. Planting trees🌲👩🌾. Revegetation is a simple but effective method of countering the effects of desertification, allowing for a richer biodiversity to be fostered on the land.    2. Converting air to drinking water💧🚰. It seems like magic, but its actually brilliant minds solving the ever-prevalent issue of water scarcity. Atmospheric Water Generation technologies are useful ways of capturing clean water in humid environments where it might be scarce.    3. Desert Soilization🌱🏜. By analyzing the environment and producing unique slurries, dry land can become more fertile for farming. This aids in crop growth and overall, consumes less water.    4. Agrivoltaics ☀🌻. This is a dual-use system that nurtures shade-loving plants and animals beneath solar panels, allowing them to survive more comfortably. It increases crop yields and reduces carbon footprints. The solar energy harnessed can be used or sold, boosting efficiency for farmers.    5. Using Artificial Intelligence🤖🖥. We all know AI is a useful tool for humans, but what about for nature? Using hardware and software data collection systems, AI can analyze ecosystems, such as bodies of water, by measuring temperature, ecosystem dynamics, and nutrient levels. This helps us assess water health and develop strategies to make the biome climate resilient.    These initiatives are an amazing step towards a more sustainable and healthier planet for all of us❤️🌏.    As a venture studio that focuses on fostering sustainability, Nupo Ventures recognizes how crucial it is to mitigate desertification and help those most affected by it.     That’s why we want to cultivate a culture of innovation that prioritizes solutions that promote restorative growth through tech.    Investing in practices that focus on fighting against environmental issues, or helps farmers build reliable infrastructure, ensures that the people and animals facing the effects of desertification every day are supported for now, and forever.  .  .  .  .  #Sustainability #Innovation #VentureStudio #StartupGrowth #Entrepreneurship #NupoVentures #Desertification #ForTheWild #LandDegradation

🚀 Accelerating Sustainable Startup Growth with Nupo Ventures 🚀 We're excited to share our latest blog post: "Joining Forces: How Working With a Venture Studio Like Nupo Ventures Accelerates Sustainable Startup Growth." 🌱 Discover how the venture studio model provides more than just funding—it offers a comprehensive support system that includes resources, talent, and hands-on involvement in the development of new businesses. Unlike traditional venture capital firms, venture studios like ours actively participate in every step of the startup journey, from idea generation to go-to-market strategy. Learn about our approach, our success stories, and how we are leveraging Olam's extensive network to drive meaningful sustainability impacts across all ESG dimensions in Big Food & Agritech. Read the full blog to explore how Nupo Ventures is transforming innovative ideas into scalable, sustainable businesses. 🌍 👉 https://lnkd.in/dTZ-NMWS #VentureStudio #StartupGrowth #Sustainability #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #NupoVentures

Heartened to hear how our portfolio company Terrascope is helping their customer (and our partner!) Olam Agri in building resilient supply chains and engaging meaningfully with their stakeholders. This speaks directly to our vision - accelerating the growth of products and services that truly care for what impact we leave on this planet, and collectively aim to achieve a positive change. #foodandagriculture #supplychain #sustainableinnovation

Biodiversity forms the backbone of a sustainable and resilient global food system 🌳🐝🪱🥗 From soil health to pollination, diverse ecosystems play a key role in ensuring food security and nutrition for a growing population. As species disappear and ecosystems degrade at an alarming rate, the stability and productivity of our agricultural landscapes are compromised. This will lead to: 🌾 decrease in crop yields 🐞 increasing vulnerability to pests & diseases 🥗 weaker nutritional density That’s not all. Biodiversity loss worsens the affects of the climate crisis. Ecosystems — from trees to soils to peat lands — are huge carbon sinks. They are vital for pulling emissions out of the atmosphere and slowing climate change. As we clear our forests and degrade our soils, the less nature is able to mitigate climate change. At Nupo Ventures, we realize the urgency of addressing biodiversity loss and its implications for food security and climate resilience. We are committed to fostering innovation in the food and agritech sector by building sustainable businesses that prioritize biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration 🌱🐛🐝🐟 As a sustainability-driven venture studio, we have a role to play in reversing biodiversity loss and being #PartofThePlan. By adopting regenerative farming practices, investing in nature-based solutions, and supporting farmers in adopting sustainable land management techniques — we can build a future where food production works in harmony with nature, not against it 🌾🌳🌍 . . . . #biodiversity #foodsystems #foodandag #agritech #vc