Project detail - Aerobotics (Pty) Limited

Aerobotics (Pty) Limited

Status: Investment in contracting phase
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Disclaimer

The information as disclosed is indicative and provided on an "as-is/as available" basis for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or investment advice, nor as a commitment or an offer to arrange or provide any financing. The final decision to provide financing is subject to the terms and conditions of FMO in its sole and absolute discretion. When providing links to other sites, FMO bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. The information on proposed investment for high-risk investments is made available in the language relevant to the country or region where the bulk of operations take place. Translations of any information into languages other than English are intended as a convenience for local stakeholders. In case of any discrepancy, the information provided in English will prevail.

Who is our prospective customer?

Aerobotics (Pty) Ltd. (the Company) is an Agri Tech company active in the Farm Management Software, Sensing and IOT space. The Company has developed an orchard monitoring, yield estimation and insurance reporting product that supports precision agriculture in the high value tree crops segment e.g. citrus, berries and nuts. Key components of the solution are field management, pest and disease control, yield estimation and irrigation management.

What is our funding objective?

An equity investment has been made that will support the Company’s operations, expansion and technology development.

Why do we want to fund this investment?

The Company’s impact potential is multifold: i) supporting climate smart agriculture and reducing usage of water and inputs, ii) improving food security and yield per hectare, iii) advancement of emerging market farmers towards peers in developed countries, iv) supporting economic growth and job generation in South Africa, and v) great potential for FMO to add value through amongst others linkages with its corporate Agri portfolio and partner knowledge institutions.

What is the Environmental and Social categorization rationale?

This is a Category C project because of the potential limited adverse social and environmental (E&S) risk and/or impacts of this SAAS model. While this project has been screened against all IFC Performance Standards (PS), FMO’s E&S due diligence indicates that the investment will have impact which must be managed in a manner consistent with the following PSs: PS 1 - Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts, PS 2 - Labour and Working Conditions, and PS 3 - Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention. As the nature of this project does not involve direct land acquisition or direct use of natural resources but is instead facilitating farm operations with a software solution, the following Performance Standards do not apply: PS 4 - Community Health, Safety and Security, PS5 - Land Acquisition and Involuntary Settlement, PS 6 - Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources, PS7 – Indigenous, and PS8 - Cultural Heritage. FMO will periodically review the project’s ongoing compliance with the Performance Standards.

More investments

Date Total FMO financing
4/2/2024 EUR 0.07 MLN
10/7/2022 EUR 0.02 MLN
12/9/2020 ZAR 42.75 MLN
Country
Global
Sector
Agribusiness, Food & Water
Publication date
2/14/2023
Deadline for feedback
3/1/2023
Total FMO financing
USD 1.00 MLN
Funding
Ventures Program Asia
Risk categorization on environmental and social impacts, A = high risk, B+ = medium high risk, B = medium risk, C = low risk Environmental & Social Category
(A, B+, B or C)
C