Morocco’s UM6P Ventures Invests in Climate Crop Ltd to Boost Global Food Supply
UM6P Ventures, a Moroccan venture capital firm affiliated with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, announced on Thursday its investment in Climate Crop Ltd, an Israeli startup that specializes in the use of gene editing technologies to increase the potential of plants to capture more energy, store more carbon, and produce higher yields.
This investment is becoming increasingly important in light of growing concerns about global warming and the current climate crisis, as well as their implications for global food security. The investment will boost agricultural productivity and resilience in Africa and around the world. It intends to accomplish this by funding the maturation and specific application of gene-editing technology to potatoes and tomatoes.
In addition to the funding, the company will receive Venture Builder assistance, which will allow it to access the scientific expertise and R&D facilities of the Mohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) ecosystem and its agro-bioscience partners.
In a joint statement issued by the firms, Othman Chraibi, chief investment, and operations officer at UM6P Ventures, said, “We are actively seeking investments in startups that address an important topic such as climate change and its impact on global food supply, security, and sustainability.”
“UM6P Ventures’ network of scientific experts and our partners’ cutting-edge infrastructure will collaborate to accelerate the technological maturity of Climate Crop’s solution and its commercialization,” he added.
Yehuda Borenstein, CEO & founder of Climate Crop, on his part, said: “The extensive scientific support system available from UM6P Ventures, coupled with capital investment, will help Climate Crop maintain its foot holds in the gene editing food market and positively impact crop production and the world’s food supply.”
Climate Crop will also have organic access to the vast ecosystem and partner Agtech platforms in Morocco and around the world.
Climate Crop and UM6P Ventures will work together to expand their presence in the US market, beginning with the establishment of a US subsidiary in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park.