The Challenge by the numbers


Meet the Winners
SavrPak:
Distinguished Sustainable Agtech Startup
Presented by Bill Birgen, Chief Technology Officer
This team manufactures and sells its patented universal packaging tech which extends the shelf life of agriculture products like leafy greens and berries by as much as 2 weeks. SAVRpak is a technology company that uses compostable, non-chemical sachets to extend the quality of foods, agriculture products and delivery (hot) foods.
SAVRpak’s technology can extend the shelf life of produce and reduce food waste," said Bill Birgen, co-founder and CTO of SAVRpak. “This recognition from the U.N. and The Yield Lab will help us deliver our solution to farmers across Latin America and the Caribbean to help them preserve crops, reach new regions, and sustainably scale their businesses.” The plant-based, chemical free patch is dropped into containers before refrigeration and cools along with the produce. Using the laws of thermodynamics, the patented technology attracts and traps moisture away from the surface of food during temperature fluctuations. SAVRpak was founded by rocket scientist Bill Birgen, Grant Stafford and Greg Maselli. The SAVRpak technology is currently being tested on farms across the US and Mexico. Earlier this year, the company concluded a raise of $3.5M in a seed round led by Mark Cuban. SAVRpak recently executed an exclusive distribution partnership with Sysco to help restaurants keep their takeout and delivery meals crisp during transit.
Ucrop.It:
Special Mention
Presented by Diego Hoter, Co-Founder & CEO
This collaborative mobile platform articulates agro actors to boost crops cycles expected results, through the simple registration of agronomic events and it's realization evidence on blockchain.
Ucrop.it are very much honored by having been selected as one of the winners in the UN environment programme sustainability challenge. Now we are excited to work hard along the UN on scaling Sustainable agriculture and green finance traceability across the entire LATAM and Caribbean geographies for the benefit of farmers and the agriculture value chain as a whole. We would like to take the chance to recognize the entire @ucrop.it #team for making it possible a and a big thanks to @TheYieldLabLATAM and the UN for having invite us to participate. We are really trilled by the opportunity”.
ClearLeaf:
Special Mention
Presented by Néstor Zúñiga Arias, Managing Director
ClearLeaf uses patent-pending technology, organic certified in Japan and the EU, to provide a line of nox-toxic fungicides and bactericides for agricultural use. ClearLeaf S.A. was launched in Costa Rica to commercialize GotaBlanca©, a non-toxic contact action liquid emulsion that uses nanotechnology for the control and management of agricultural fungal and bacterial pests on living plants and post-harvest on fruits, vegetables and flowers.
ClearLeaf is changing the way we do pest control worldwide and we are leading these efforts all over the world, starting in our home turf, Latin America. We have recently secured a distribution contract with the biggest agrochemical distributor in Costa Rica and the Central American region and we keep getting major interest from global corporates to use our technology. These milestones combined with the exposure we are getting thanks to The Sustainable Agtech Challenge is getting us much closer to our short and long term goals. Thanks to this program, we have achieved access to a valuable and privileged network of stakeholders. We would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of the core team who carries on our day-to-day: Néstor Zuñiga, our Managing Director leading the company; Dr. Agustín Büchert, our CSO on the scientific forefront; and Lawrence Pratt, our CEO providing fundamental strategic guidance.
