2020 is the year it all came together…
If the Covid-19 crisis has taught us anything, it is how much we are all connected. At ClearLeaf, 2020 was the year it all came together. We completed our first seed financing round, gained new clients, developed new products and new applications, structured our strategy, strengthened our team, and enhanced our visibility to be ready to change the world with as many like-minded people as we can. Agriculture is not going to change itself. We are going to do it together!
We conducted more trials
Enveritas, a highly influential organization with a mission to “certify and promote best practices and products for smallholder farmers” has been conducting their own commercial trials throughout 2020 to validate GotaBlanca® for its affiliated farmers. The trial results have been outstanding, again confirming GotaBlanca®´s efficacy in controlling coffee leaf rust and other pathogens on coffee farms straight through the harvest process. Enveritas and ClearLeaf are developing a plan for the commercial deployment of GotaBlanca® to their client base for the 2021 growing season, starting Q2 2021.
We secured IP, new registrations, organic certifications…
In January 2020, ClearLeaf filed its second patent for our technology to prevent and reduce contamination in the plant tissue culture (in vitro propagation) process. We now have 2 patents pending: USPTO and WIPO/PCT. We obtained Organic Certification (Japan, EU, Costa Rica) and started registering new products locally and regionally (Central America).
We raised $500k in Seed Round
We raised $500,000 in our first Seed Round in 2020, allowing us to ready ourselves for market expansion. In 2021, we are launching our Seed Plus Round.
We improved our commercial traction
We expanded our team
To meet our clients’ needs and expand our market, we recruited excellent people to expand our core team (communications, sales, social media, logistics). We also reinforced our network of expert advisors , to help us further develop IP protection, registration, and distribution worldwide.
We gained visibility
We started to communicate online, on Social Media, and with international media. We greatly increased our participation in Accelerating Programs all over the world. We presented ClearLeaf at the World AgriTech South America Summit, 2020 and we are part of the gBETA AgTech Spring 2021 cohort of Illinois AgTech Accelerator; we are on FoodTech 500 and on the LatAm Agrifoodtech Market Map; we have raised the interest of FreshPlaza, AgFunderNews, and more.
We secured partnerships with major clients
We started strategic partnerships with flagship clients in major industries of interest (banana, coffee, sugar cane, vegetables, flowers…) and are now securing our distribution partners for Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, and other countries of Central America. As we grow, we plan to continue working closely in B2B with major players, while we further develop several distribution channels for a larger public.
We clarified our Vision and Mission
We know what to do
Global fungicide and bactericide markets are expected to reach $30 BILLION by 2024. And between 20 and 30% of all available pesticides may soon be banned due to health, environmental and global toxicity concerns. We must change the way we do agriculture, and we must do it now to build a sustainable world for our children.
Sustainability starts in the fields. And we are committed to it.
How to do it
GotaBlanca® is one of the only non-toxic fungi-bactericides currently on the market, anywhere in the world. It is broad-spectrum, does not cause microbial resistance, enhances plant growth (rather than impeding it like most current products), does not affect on-farm (or off-farm) biological diversity, and can be applied at any time in the growing cycle (off-season, budding, growth, fruiting, and up to the moment of harvest). GotaBlanca® can also be used for the protection of post-harvest produce, to reduce damage and deterioration between the farm and the end consumer. Our technology is so versatile and efficient that it can be adapted to a wide variety of crops and situations. And we are currently developing new and innovative products, from a house garden line, to be distributed to the public to an in-vitro propagation solution that will be a revolution for the industry.
And with whom
Sustainable agriculture is of major importance for everyone. So, from social media communication to field sales work or accelerating programs, we want to reach everyone, everywhere, in order to raise awareness, offer solutions, and team up with as many as possible like-minded people. In parallel, we are developing our distribution channels in countries where we have promising developments and ongoing activities.
But to further develop, a startup needs investors too. And Agtech is a thriving sector, where around 60 M&A transactions involving crop protection, crop nutrition, seeds, and traits, as well as precision farming were made in 2020. After the success of our $500k Seed Round in 2020, and as we are opening our Seed Plus Round, we are confident that our value proposition, our values, and our technology will continue to inspire like-minded people to join us for sustainable agriculture.
