The two companies will work together to accelerate the urban farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry across the country by offering new entrepreneurs a more accessible way to raise capital for small-scale or pilot facilities. Research has shown that urban agriculture provides a range of crucial ecosystem services valued at $33+ billion.
“We’ve seen a great deal of success in the F&B industry fueled by a need for alternative sources of capital and demand from community members for tangible ways to support local brands,” stated Nicholas Mathews, Mainvest CEO and Co-Founder. "We’re excited to partner with Agritecture on empowering the industry to raise capital on more favorable terms with the support of active and engaged communities.”
In 2020, the USDA offered the availability of only $3M in grants for urban agriculture and innovative production to just 10 projects - despite receiving 578 applicants. While the CapEx, or startup cost, can vary widely for these projects, Agritecture notes that nearly 30% of controlled environment farms modeled via their Agritecture Designer digital platform have a CapEx of less than $250,000 - likely a pilot facility for an entrepreneur who wants to start small and learn before scaling up.
For more information:
Agritecture
www.agritecture.com
Mainvest
www.mainvest.com