SINGAPORE – DiMuto, a Singapore-based agri-food trade tech platform, has received an undisclosed sum of investment from venture capital studio, Latin Leap to broaden its footprint in Latin America.
DiMuto said that the investment and support provided by Latin Leap would help drive further international expansion in Latin America, a market where strong continued growth of fresh produce trade is expected.
DiMuto sees Latin America as a market that has positioned itself as a leading exporter of agricultural products such as fruit and vegetable, whose exports have grown considerably, particularly for tropical fruits such as bananas, avocados, pineapples and mangoes.
According to a 2019 report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the FAO, tropical fruits accounted for a total export value of around US$15.5 billion in Latin America from 2016-18.
The region also reported a steady growth in the overall agricultural trade surplus over the past two decades to reach US$104.3 billion in 2017.
“With the strong outlook for the agricultural sector in Latin America, I believe that the industry would benefit from digitalization and traceability offered by DiMuto that would bring peace of mind to consumers around the world.
“DiMuto fits perfectly into our investment thesis of soft-landing tech-enabled businesses with a positive impact on society in Latin America.
“We are proud to accompany its growth path in the region,” said Stefan Krautwald, General Partner of Latin Leap.
Using blockchain, IoT and AI in its trade solutions, DiMuto digitalizes the agri-food supply chain to enhance visibility and transparency, aiming to solve the industry’s various challenges such as food waste, food safety and food sustainability.
DiMuto claims that it creates traceability for every single fruit as they move through the supply chain – from farms, factories, cold chain to distribution channels and end consumers.
The company has developed the Digital Asset Creation devices (DACky) enabling it to tag each fruit and carton with QR labels and captures images of every carton.
DiMuto explains that data such as relevant trade documents is then associated with the product information and uploaded onto its blockchained trade platform, effectively reducing disputes over quality and creating trust amongst trade parties.
“We are excited to have Latin Leap join us as an investor and partner to grow our presence in Latin America. With data captured using our solutions, stakeholders in the agri-food supply chain are now able to see the quality of fresh produce being it is being shipped, creating trust and visibility in the uncertainty brought on by COVID-19,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto.
To date, DiMuto says that it has tagged over 30 million fruits and tracked and traced over US$100million worth of agrifood trades. The company has presence in 7 countries including US, China, Indonesia, Australia and Mexico.
The new funding and strategic support from Latin Leap will allow DiMuto to further capitalize on its global growth momentum and help drive further international expansion in new markets in Latin America over the next few months.
Latin Leap joins other investors including First Alverstone Capital, PwC Singapore as well as SGInnovate – which invetsed in the company late last year.
