ACTIVA-CATIE strengthens the digital agricultural innovation ecosystem of the Americas

• The ACTIVA innovation laboratory, from CATIE, participated in IICA’s Digital Agriculture Week with a specialized workshop and a panel on investment for AgTech.

Within the framework of the fourth edition of Digital Agriculture Week, organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) from September 22 to 26 in Costa Rica, the team from the innovation and entrepreneurship laboratory: ACTIVA, from CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), participated through the development of a workshop and their intervention in an international AgTech investment panel.

The ACTIVA-CATIE team, composed of Vladimir Valera, Ricardo Padrón, Juan Serrano, and Vinicio Vargas, took part in the panel “Investment Bridges for AgTech Innovation,” sharing the laboratory’s approach and investment thesis alongside representatives from funds such as BID Lab, Brumas Venture Capital, and Endeavor.

Subsequently, they held mentoring meetings with six startups working on digital solutions for agriculture, providing them with feedback on their business models and financing opportunities.

Likewise, ACTIVA-CATIE was responsible for the only workshop of the week, entitled “Design of Business Models for AgTechs with Social, Environmental, and Economic Impact.” More than 40 participants, mostly startup founders from the sector, applied the agile methodology developed by ACTIVA-CATIE, which combines the classic components of a business model with ethical principles, environmental safeguards, social factors, and the incorporation of Nature-based Solutions (NbS).

The opinions of the attendees were positive, highlighting that the workshop provided them with practical tools to guide their companies toward sustainability, integrating the economic, social, and environmental spheres.

Digital Agriculture Week also represented a platform for connection and networking, generating new spaces for collaboration, mentoring, and strategic partnerships.

“With this experience, ACTIVA-CATIE reaffirms its commitment to supporting AgTechs in building business models that drive innovation and sustainable development in the agricultural sector in the region,” concluded Valera, director of ACTIVA-CATIE.