Unilever 2023 for document-1

Mycrobites and Syocin Were Peer-Selected as Most Investment-Ready Startups at Innovations in Sustainability 2023

These startups are pioneering environmental practices in the food industry in Latin America

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Mexico City (December 11, 2023) Village Capital, with support from Unilever, announced that Mycobites and Syocin were peer-selected as the best prepared to receive investment as part of the Innovations in Sustainability 2023 accelerator program.

The accelerator program supported 11 female-led/owned startups from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and México. The startups are creating and developing solutions related to sustainable agricultural practices, decarbonization, and recycling.

The startups embarked on a four-month journey with online workshops and support from an Investment Analyst, sector-related mentors, and regional leaders within the Unilever team to further develop their impact and innovation in the agricultural, food, and recycling industries. 

Central to this program was Village Capital’s venture investment levels and peer-selected methodology, which enables startups to better understand where their solutions lie on an investment-readiness scale. On the final day of Innovations in Sustainability, the participants evaluated each other through an investor lens, using eight specific investment criteria, and Mycobites and Syocin were ranked as “most investment ready” by their peers. 

“Never before did I feel like I could be rewarded in this way by my own peers; it is a very warming feeling because those who selected me have also gone through the same experiences as me,” said Rodolfo Ulloa, Co-founder & Co-CEO at Mycobites.

“I’m happy to see and participate in quality regional programs that are responding to Latin American talents and needs, which is not that common in this sector,” said Marcos Delas, Co-founder at Syocin.

The peer-selected startups focus on the following:

  • Mycobites (Santiago, Chile) develops a new category of nutritionally rich, environmentally-friendly mushroom-based foods. 
  • Syocin (Rosario, Argentina) operates the Synthetic Biology Platform, which can design and build highly potent bio-bactericides based on proteins that can precisely target plant bacterial pathogens.

For more information, reach out to Yireth Villaverde at Village Capital (yireth.villaverde@vilcap.com).

About Village Capital

Village Capital is reinventing the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Known for its groundbreaking approaches to supporting founders who are building solutions to emergent social, economic, and environmental challenges, VilCap unlocks critical social and financial capital for early-stage companies to maximize business and impact growth.

Village Capital has operated in Latin America since 2015 by running over 16 accelerator programs involving more than 19 countries in the region including Bolivia, Guatemala, and Paraguay. VilCap has supported more than 170 locally-based startups working in sectors such as economic mobility, financial health, and sustainable agriculture. Learn more at www.vilcap.com and follow @vilcap_latam. 

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition and Ice Cream products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 3.4 billion people every day. We have 127,000 employees and generated sales of €60.1 billion in 2022.

Our vision is to be the global leader in sustainable business and to demonstrate how our purpose-led, future-fit business model drives superior performance. We have a long tradition of being a progressive, responsible business.

The Unilever Compass, our sustainable business strategy, is set out to help us deliver superior performance and drive sustainable and responsible growth, while: improving the health of the planet; improving people's health, confidence and wellbeing; and contributing to a fairer and more socially inclusive world.

For more information about Unilever and our brands, please visit www.unilever.com