LaGemma Venture, an investment company set up in March 2024 with the aim of creating an innovation and growth hub based in the province of Cuneo, announces the investment of EUR 1.7 million in 11 companies participating in its first Agrifood24 acceleration programme in collaboration with SocialFare.
“We want to create an innovation ecosystem capable of generating a positive social and environmental impact, starting from the vocation of our territory, with a vision extended to the whole of Italy and Europe. The province of Cuneo, with a strong agricultural tradition, has seen the birth of world-class agrifood excellence thanks to the quality and advanced technology of its companies,’ explains Enrico Collidà, president of LaGemma Venture, in a note. Through our acceleration programme we aim to accompany the development of new realities of excellence. The selected start-ups are realities with possibilities for growth and development that, through this path and thanks to our invested resources, will be able to maximise their potential.”
“LaGemma Venture,” emphasises director Wilma Tesio (in the photo), “with an investment, for this first year, of EUR 1.7 million, aims not only to provide financial support, but also strategic mentoring and growth paths to the selected start-ups and realities. With us are partners of excellence such as SocialFare, companies and institutions in our area, a team of technicians and experts, and professionals from businesses and organisations who are an indispensable support for new entrepreneurs. LaGemma Venture aims to generate not only economic growth, but also social growth, and has chosen to do so by investing in two entrepreneurial realities that are particularly active precisely in the social sphere: 8Pari and Mondo Pane; with them it will try to build an operational model to be exported, so that entrepreneurial development is inclusive and positive for all.
After a selection process that assessed the 70 applications received, the companies in which LaGemma Venture chose to invest that stand out for offering innovative products or services in the agrifood sector, capable of generating a concrete positive social and environmental impact, are: Kelpeat produces algae-based snacks and foods with the aim of promoting biodiversity both in nature and on the table; Agree Net designs innovative solutions that, through active, biodegradable biomaterials, aim to increase the shelf life of fresh food and reduce waste; Aqua Farm benefit company They set up aquaponics facilities, a technique that combines aquaculture with hydroponics, creating an integrated system that reduces the use of natural resources, offering fresh, healthy, short supply chain food; RedMoringa produces and markets supplements, natural cosmetics, as well as animal products based on moringa oleifera, with an ethical approach to production to improve health; Vortex which uses patented technologies to valorise by-products of the agro-food industry, transforming them into high quality ingredients certified by the circular economy. Among their main production lines are Naste Beauty cosmetics, as well as products that can be used in the food and pet food sectors; 8pari, a reality born from the agricultural educational activity of Progetto Emmaus, which has been active for 25 years in social inclusion in the areas of Alba, Bra, Langhe and Roero, produces quality wines through the employment of fragile people (people with disabilities, mental health disorders, refugees); Mondo Pane, which operates in the prison economy by employing people from prisons in the production of high quality artisan bakery products, with the aim of selling them to companies in the Ho.Re.Ca. and Food Service companies; NuHpro aims to improve people’s quality of life by developing food products to prevent and treat diabetes, intestinal problems and lactose intolerance; Nutras with a lean approach, the startup develops food supplements and a kit with a practical design to always have them with you, to improve the wellbeing of people suffering from food intolerances, particularly lactose, or digestion problems. PlantVoice a benefit company that uses an innovative intelligent graft to monitor the health of fruit plants in real time by analysing the sap. An advanced system that reduces waste, improves production efficiency and agricultural sustainability; Sylfib a benefit company specialising in the processing of natural fibres, with a particular focus on the maceration of Liberian fibres. It promotes a circular and environmentally friendly industrial model, with applications in the textile, construction, paper and composite materials sectors.
The acceleration programme, which started on 13 January, will take place in LaGemma Venture’s new operational headquarters, within Spazi per l’Italia, at the Cuneo Post Office headquarters, and will end on 20 May with the investor day.
LaGemma Venture was set up thanks to the initiative of Fondazione CRC, with the aim of creating an investment and development pole that, taking root in the Cuneo area, expands towards the national and European scene. This project represents the encounter between the philanthropic principles promoted by Fondazione CRC and the dynamism of the entrepreneurial and financial world, aiming to enhance investment and act as a catalyst for change and innovation. The company is 100% owned by Fondazione CRC and the first verticality it has chosen to invest in is agrifood, which encompasses broader objectives of social and environmental sustainability. This sector, crucial for the future of the planet, supports over 1.23 billion people and, according to the FAO, will need to increase production by 70 per cent by 2050 to feed a growing population with limited resources and greater equity. However, global challenges such as climate change, inequalities in food distribution, soil degradation and water scarcity require innovative solutions, reduced waste and respect for the environment in an uncertain and evolving context.
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