Case Study
The Infarm: urban farming (r)evolution
Our food has a long journey to make before it reaches our plate. “Approximately 1500km through 28 pairs of hands,” says Martin Weber, CFO of Infarm, a Berlin-based vertical farming company. Fortunately, vertical farming means that it is possible to grow food closer to home, cutting out unnecessary energy waste for transportation and refrigeration, while reducing the need for pesticides and fertilisers.
The impact? The CO² footprint of an Infarm-grown lettuce in Berlin is 0.35kg, compared to up to 3.7kg for lettuce imported from abroad.
Case Study
Inkitt:where data meets creativity
Ever wanted to write? Berlin-based innovative publisher Inkitt wants to hear from you. “Every author should have an equal chance to succeed, from a teenager writing her first novel, to established authors like J.K. Rowling. We want to be the fairest and most objective publisher in the world” says Ali Albazaz, CEO of Inkitt. The world’s first reader-powered book publisher offers a platform where authors can post their work, readers can read them for free, and an algorithm predicts future bestsellers. The best performers are offered a publishing deal.
With 70,000 authors on the platform and more than 1 million readers every month, it’s clearly worked. “Inkitt is where data meets creativity,” Ali adds.
Case Study
Solynta: the ultimate potato
Netherlands-based Solynta promises to revolutionise potatoes for the developing world, with 25 grams of potato seed needed to plant a hectare, instead of 2500kg of bulky and perishable potato tubers. “We were doing some tests in Uganda and the Congo, and one of the farmers actually started crying when he saw the potential of these new hybrid seeds,” said Solynta CEO Hein Kruyt. “It was – in his own words – the first time he could see a future for his family. It still gives me goose-bumps.”
Hein has created 10-12 new jobs, boosting the number of employees to 37. “The availability of highly nutritious potatoes, will be better for the planet, the wallet and for health,” adds Hein.
