HomeFundingSlovak agritech Nitroterra secures €1 million to improve the planet's soil system

Slovak agritech Nitroterra secures €1 million to improve the planet’s soil system

Slovak Startup Nitroterra has secured over €1 million of investment provided by CB Growth ONE, the fund managed by CB Investment Management which aims to support emerging startups.

The startup, which was founded in 2018 and won this year’s UPLIFT accelerator programme, is building a platform to expand and streamline the use of microbial biofertilizers in agriculture. The received investment will enable the Nitroterra group to finalize the development of a unique technology for the production of biofertilizers, introduce its first commercial version and enter the markets in Slovakia and the Central European region.

The startup’s fresh funds have come from the CB Growth One fund, which is managed by CB Investment Management (CBIM). CBIM is a subsidiary of Crowdberry, which manages resources in the total of €23 million and is financed by Slovak Investment Holding and their own funds. It’s worth noting that they are actively looking to invest in young Slovak companies with less than three years of business history and a potential for international footprint. 

“We greatly appreciate the trust and support of our intentions received from the investor and its management team. It is wonderful that the topics of protection of soil health and sustainable agricultural practices resonate in Slovakia in the same way as they do in other developed countries. We believe that farmers at home and abroad will also appreciate significant economic savings on their production costs brought by our solutions,” says Radoslav Bonk, chairman of the board of directors of Nitroterra Technology j.s.a.

The use of synthetic fertilizers in agriculture and their negative environmental impacts are among key topics on a global scale. “Nitroterra brings a groundbreaking solution with significant benefits for the society as it represents a greener and less expensive alternative to mineral fertilizers, whose long-term and often excessive use degrades soil, water resources and air, and also magnifies the negative effects of drought. From an investment point of view, Nitroterra offers an attractive growth potential for the investor and not only from a commercial perspective. Above all, it addresses the criteria of responsible investment, the so-called ESG investing with an emphasis on environmental, social, and corporate management factors which are important for the sustainability and stability of financial markets – especially in today’s challenging and uncertain times,” says Michal Nešpor, partner of CB Investment Management.

Nitroterra group’s pilot project is taking place this season, in cooperation with the Rybany agricultural cooperative farm and researchers from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. In recent weeks, Nitroterra has also been finalizing its projects for upcoming years aimed at further field tests, the modernization of its technologies, development of data tools and preparation for expansion to other selected markets. In particular, the startup hopes to expand in Europe, Northern and Southern America and Australia, covering a significant part of the €65 billion annual global market with nitrogen mineral fertilizers. To obtain resources for the implementation of these projects, Nitroterra is also applying for funding from the European EIC Accelerator grant.

Charlotte Tucker
Charlotte Tucker
Charlotte is the previous Editor at EU-Startups.com. She spends her time scouting the next big story, managing our contributor team, and getting excited about social impact ventures. She has previously worked as a Communications Consultant for number of European Commission funded startup projects.
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