An agriculture startup that participated in the inaugural Techstars Farm to Fork accelerator last summer has closed on a $1.3 million seed round of funding to grow its business internationally.
St. Paul-based Traive is a digital lending platform focused on helping farmers get the capital they need to invest in their business, including introducing technology to help them become more efficient and productive.
Traive has partnered with large agribusinesses, getting access to data that provides an inside look at farmer behavior and loan information. Using that data, Traive is building financial models that will allow it to assess farmers' risks and connect them with lenders.
The company's new funding comes from The Syndicate Fund, a Twin Cities firm, as well as a mix of investors from the U.S., Australia and Brazil.
"The wide range of investors and their deep understanding of agriculture and finance symbolizes the need for this type of solution in many different markets," Traive CEO and Co-Founder Fabricio Pezente said in a statement.
Pezente is from Brazil and has a background in investment banking. He attended MIT to study how to apply new technologies to finance. He said he was drawn to financing in the agriculture industry because of the pressing challenge of feeding a growing global population. The United Nations estimates there will be 9.8 billion people in 2050.
Traive is currently focused on expanding its solution in Brazil. Pezente said that the country is filled with small to medium-sized farmers who have limited access to credit and often pay interest rates not representative of their true repayment risk.
"Fabricio and the Traive team bring a unique knowledge of the Brazilian market combined with incredible financial acuity," said Brett Brohl, managing director of both The Syndicate Fund and Techstars Farm to Fork. "They're well-positioned to take on a big market opportunity – just the type of company that we love to invest in."
