Nanomik, which aims to extend the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables, received an investment of €800,000.
On the stage of Big Bang Startup Challenge 2022, Nanomik Biotechnology received an investment of €800,000 from the investor group, which included Rockstart, TRAngels, Coskunoz Holding, ITU Ari Teknokent and Arya Women’s Investment Platform investors Munteha Adali, Riza Sarikamis, Bedia Gokmeral, Meltem Aydin, Yasemin Mistikoglu and Ozlem Tumer Eke.
Nanomik Biotechnology produces a new generation of natural biofungicides to extend the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. Nanomik, founded by Buse Berber Orcen and Arda Orcen in April 2014, aims to reduce food losses and waste due to agricultural pests.
“Today the whole world suffers from food waste. About 30% of fresh fruits and vegetables spoil before they reach the counter. The economic impact of the aforementioned losses is over $1.3 billion annually. In traditional housing, very harmful chemicals and their synthetic derivatives are used for preservation; however, their use is limited due to their negative effects on humans. The quantities allowed for use are not sufficient for long-term protection. These chemicals and harmful microorganism toxins constitute the main problem in the export of agricultural products due to their harmful effects on humans and nature.
Nanomik company aims to show that food and agricultural products can be protected naturally without harmful chemicals and food waste can be reduced to minimum levels, and tries to reduce the use of pesticides.
How did Nanomik’s investment journey begin?
Nanomik received its first investment at the Big Bang Stage in 2017. After the grant of ₺530 thousand, the first investment came in the same year as ₺350 thousand by TRAngels. Nanomik gained momentum after its initial investment and primarily expanded its team. While developing products in the agricultural vertical, it also started to develop products for the food sector and received its second investment of ₺1.8 million from TRAngels. In the same year, it received an investment of €100,000 from Rockstart, which invests in agricultural technologies with the Netherlands-Denmark partnership.
In 2019, it received the DeepTech award at the Climate Launchpad competition, where EU-financed entrepreneurs developing clean technologies compete, and the Biomimicry award at the Biomimicry competition held in the USA. In the same year, it reached the global finals as the country winner in EIT Food Bilbao (Spain). After these successes, the company’s awareness abroad increased rapidly.
Source: Egirisim / Translated by Irem Yildiz