Category Archives: News

Mr Ryan Gwee (left), founder of Aleta Planet, and Mr Gary Loh, founder of DiMuto. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

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About Aleta Planet 

Founded in 2014 in Singapore by a team of professionals with strong business and technology expertise within the banking and finance industry, Aleta Planet is at the forefront of facilitating cross border payments to and from China. It specialises in end-to-end technology solutions for financial institutions and corporates. Aleta Planet provides payment services regulated under the Payment Services Act, governed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It focuses on a client-specific, solutions-oriented approach and has successfully delivered leading-edge technology solutions.  

Aleta Planet is also a direct acquirer and issuer of UnionPay International, offering cross-border, multi-currency transactions safely and securely. Being a Certified Principal Member of UnionPay International, Aleta Planet enables merchants to accept over 9 billion UnionPay cards issued globally. Additionally, Aleta Planet issues UnionPay commercial and retail cards. Aleta Planet also has presence in Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia and Malaysia and plans to expand to another five markets in next two years.  

Aleta Planet is also WeChat Pay and PayNow enabled, a principal member of JCB and a global acquirer for Discover and Diners Club. With this comprehensive offering, Aleta Planet seeks to accelerate networks beyond China to the rest of the world. 

For more information, please visit www.aletaplanet.com.  

About Asia Pioneer Capital 

Founded in 2011, Asia Capital Pioneers Group started as a Hong Kong-based family office to provide wealth management and legacy planning for some of Asia’s wealthiest families. It has developed a reputation of delivering above-market returns for its clients, through global investments within high growth industries such as real estate and fintech. As the controlling shareholder for several investments such as Songdo International Business District and payments fintech Aleta Planet, Asia Capital Pioneers Group has leveraged its management expertise, global connections, and business know-how to multiply the value of its investments. It also seeks to identify cross-synergies between its investment vehicles for greater efficiencies and business growth.   

For further information, visit www.asiacapitalpg.com   

About DiMuto 

DiMuto provides agrifood companies with data they can see and trust, down to every single product of every trade, where they can easily see all that is happening for every trade transaction in an organized manner, on one single platform.  

DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provide sales, marketing, operations, financing and insurance tools so businesses can trade better. 

Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business. 

With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence. 

Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group.  

For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io. 

Singapore, 12 July 2022 – DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company, announced today the launch of its B2B e-commerce marketplace that connects traceable AgriFood suppliers, growers and exporters to importers, wholesalers, and retailers. The multi-vendor marketplace creates a convenient, one-stop destination for the sale and procurement of AgriFood products.

The current AgriFood perishables industry is historically unorganized with an inefficient matching of demand to supply. DiMuto Marketplace enables AgriFood players to easily tap into a global commerce ecosystem of fresh and frozen fresh produce, livestock, meat and seafood products, regardless of their geographical location, and complete the ordering process digitally.

Once a buyer and seller links up and an order is placed on the DiMuto Marketplace, the trade is then tracked directly on DiMuto’s Trade Management Platform, where every carton of product is digitized, tracked, and unified with critical trade documents and payment information. This seamless connection between creating the sales and managing the order removes the organizational silos between buyers and sellers, as well as internally within the sales, procurement, shipping and finance departments.

Every action taken to move the trade towards completion will be seamlessly tracked and viewable via a Trade Timeline, so suppliers are able to effectively share necessary information to buyers such as bills of lading, certificates of origin, phytosanitary certificates and more. Buyers are also given a peace of mind when they can see product quality right from the farm and packhouse that is verified by DiMuto’s AI-powered Product Quality Score, while being able to share timely data on product arrival quality with a complementary Goods Receiver App.

In addition, companies can now know real, quantified metrics when it comes to the sustainability of their supply chain, down to the individual farmers that grew the food, and water and carbon footprint and view key metrices on the DiMuto Sustainability Dashboard.

“The DiMuto Marketplace is an exciting value proposition because it not only saves valuable resources on prospecting, it also allows companies to really measure and ensure the sustainability of their food supply chains by connecting to our Trade Management Solutions. We believe that with the ecosystem it brings to the table, the marketplace tool will certainly add tremendous value to our customers and the industry and pave the way to a future of digital AgriFood trade,” said Julie Escobar, Chief Commercial Officer of DiMuto.

The launch of DiMuto Marketplace is  one of the three engines behind the Agri-Fintech company’s vision to power global AgriFood trade with visibility and finance.  The company aims to scale its Marketplace, Trade Management and Financial Services pillars to grow and power its AgriFood Trade ecosystem of traceable and sustainable growers-exports, traders and retailers in the coming months.

“We are pleased to launch the DiMuto Marketplace. The Marketplace allows DiMuto to capture the trade, and connect it to our Trade Management Solutions that make these trades visible, which can then be financed through our Financial Services. With these three gears removing all the friction in global trade, DiMuto truly powers the AgriFood Trade with visibility and finance,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto.  

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About DiMuto

DiMuto provides AgriFood companies with data they can see and trust, down to every single product of every trade, where they can easily see all that is happening for every trade transaction in an organized manner, on one single platform.

DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provide sales, marketing, operations, financing and insurance tools so businesses can trade better.

Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business.

With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence.

Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.

[PRESS RELEASE]

DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company, announced the appointment of Patrick Vizzone to its Board of Directors.

Patrick Vizzone brings over three decades of corporate and investment banking experience in food, agribusiness, and Asian markets. He is currently the managing director and head of Agri-Food for the Asia-Pacific alternatives group at Franklin Templeton. Previously, he was the international head of Food, Beverage & Agribusiness and Head of Hong Kong Coverage at the ANZ Banking Group. Prior to that, he was Asian head of institutional banking and head of food and agribusiness at National Australia Bank. Patrick has also served for over a decade as an Independent Non-Executive Director of China Agri-Industries, the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of China’s COFCO Group, In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Fresh Produce Association, where he sits on the Executive Committee as Secretary-Treasurer.

Gary Loh, Founder, and CEO of DiMuto commented, “We are pleased to welcome Patrick to the DiMuto Board. Patrick’s wealth of knowledge and experience in the Agribusiness and banking industry, particularly in Asia, will enhance DiMuto’s board and help shape the company’s future. We look forward to having his valuable perspective on our board.”

“I am delighted to join DiMuto’s Board of Directors. I believe there are significant opportunities to create value, and I am eager to collaborate with the team and my fellow Directors to guide the company’s strategy for long-term success,” said Patrick Vizzone, Board Member of DiMuto.

Patrick Vizzone joins existing board members including Gary Loh, Claire Pribula, Managing Director of The Yield Lab Asia Pacific, and Ryan Gwee, Managing Director of Asia Capital Pioneers Group and Chairman of Aleta Planet. 

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About DiMuto

DiMuto provides agrifood companies with data they can see and trust, down to every single product of every trade, where they can easily see all that is happening for every trade transaction in an organized manner, on one single platform.

DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provides sales, marketing, operations, financing, and insurance tools so businesses can trade better.

Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business.

With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence.

Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.

[PRESS RELEASE]

• DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company, rolls out the Farm Management Application as an expansion of its all-in-one Platform. The DiMuto Farm Management feature helps smallholder farmers to digitalize farm records, transport, and sales information and improve the efficiency and visibility of their operations.

• DiMuto Farm Management also digitally connects smallholder farmers to agronomists and procurement teams, equipping AgriFood companies with verified upstream farm data to better inform their agronomic and purchase decisions as well as work more closely with smallholder farmers for greater and more efficient output.

• The Farm Management feature automatically connects to Production Management and Trade Management features of the DiMuto Platform, allowing companies to track the farm and lot that the AgriFood product originated from and follow it as it travels through the supply chain. Being able to track factors such as the farmers that grew the food, approved fertilizers, and the amount of water used highlights key social and environmental dimensions in purchasing decisions. This added visibility allows AgriFood companies to track key sustainability metrics with improved accuracy.   

• Research estimates that 70% of smallholder farmers in global Agri supply chains live below the global poverty line of $3.20 a day, amounting to over 122 million people. The Digital Wallet function of the Farm Management app helps farmers track, receive and access digital payments – the digital payment rail creates a strong foundation for executing smallholder farmer financing and insurance opportunities, ensuring that loans can be directly and properly deployed to the farmers for verifiable purposes, such as improving the efficiency and sustainability of their farm operations to strengthen the resiliency of farming enterprises.
  
• To tackle these systemic issues, DiMuto plans to implement Farm Management solutions and its financing offering with existing customers in Indonesia, Mexico, and Colombia.

Singapore, 17 May 2022 – DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company, launches DiMuto Farm Management, the latest feature in its all-in-one Trade Platform. DiMuto Farm Management digitalizes smallholder farm operations and achieves upstream supply chain visibility.

The DiMuto Farm Management application connects growing, harvesting, selling, and payments for better visibility of farm operations with its three functions – Grow, Sell, and Services. Using the DiMuto Farm Management Application, smallholder farmers can easily set up their digital identity on the Farm Management mobile application and connect their operations to their buyers such as procurement teams and agronomists from larger traders and packhouses within minutes. Through an intuitive interface, farmers can simplify farm administration, storing and accessing digitalized farm records, transport, and sales information easily. Additionally, they can also obtain yield estimates, track production, and get timely reminders to manage their field.  

Such farm data is then automatically populated to an aggregated web dashboard for agronomists and procurement teams to track the farm and estimated harvests, giving more accuracy to supply planning. The Farm Management also seamlessly connects to Production Management and Trade Management features of the DiMuto Platform, allowing AgriFood companies to track the source of their AgriFood products and raw materials, down to the farm and lot that they originated from. As an added layer of verification, all supply chain data recorded on the DiMuto Platform is also uploaded on the blockchain, ensuring immutability and trust.

With increasing demands from consumers and governments for sustainable sourcing, this down-reaching level of supply chain visibility will help AgriFood companies track and verify key sustainability metrics.  For instance, AgriFood procurement teams are now able to track measures such as the farmer that grew the food, the number of approved fertilizers, and water being used for the products that they purchased – enabling them to work more closely with farmers on the ground to ensure sustainability practices. This is particularly important for companies to achieve supply chain sustainability, given that a McKinsey report has shown that 80 of large multi-national companies (MNCs)’ impact on air, land, water, biodiversity, and geological resources comes not from internal operations but from its supply chain, and most MNCs are struggling to assess supplier activities accurately and efficiently.

Research estimates that 70% of smallholder farmers in global Agri supply chains live below the global poverty line of $3.20 a day, amounting to over 122 million people. This is even though smallholder farmers produce a third of the world’s food.

The DiMuto Farm Management application also has a Digital Wallet function that helps farmers to track, receive and access digital payments. The payment rails will help DiMuto to execute smallholder farmer financing and insurance opportunities, allowing loans and payments to be directly deployed and rightfully received. The Digital Wallet is also connected to the Trade Management and the Grow aspect of the app, creating the ability to verify the purpose and usage of the loans, and ensuring that funds can be used for improved resiliency and sustainability of these smallholder farmers.

“We are very excited to launch the DiMuto Farm Management application and several projects are already in the works, with the support of partners who share the vision and see the potential for the Farm Management application to improve the livelihood of farmers they employ while ensuring the sustainability of their procurement operations,” said Julie Escobar, Chief Commercial Officer of DiMuto. “We truly believe this feature will greatly help growers, packers, shippers, importers, and retailers to have greater visibility on their buying and improve overall sustainability.”

The company has plans to implement the Farm Management application in Indonesia, Mexico, and Colombia. 

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About DiMuto

DiMuto provides agrifood companies with data they can see and trust, down to every single product of every trade, where they can easily see all that is happening for every trade transaction in an organized manner, on one single platform.

DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provide sales, marketing, operations, financing and insurance tools so businesses can trade better.

Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade
landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business.

With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence.

Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions
in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries
and five continents. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the
Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io

[PRESS RELEASE]

PT Sewu Segar Nusantara Partners DiMuto to Execute First Farming Blockchain Initiative in Indonesia for Food Safety and Supply Chain Visibility

• DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company, has secured a partnership with PT Sewu Segar Nusantara (SSN), a leading local fruit distributor and marketer in Indonesia, to deploy blockchain traceability across PT SSN’s fresh produce products, for food safety and supply chain visibility. The partnership will start with Sunpride’s Pisang Mas products. 
  
• SSN is part of Great Giant Foods, the corporate arm of Gunung Sewu Group and a leading vertically integrated food and agricultural products, which encompasses fresh and processed fruits,packaged foods, and beverage as well as protein and dairy products. SSN has a huge distribution network covering many cities in several major regions of Indonesia, through general trade and modern trade in collaboration with many sub-distributors, wholesalers, retailers, modern market to distribute Sunpride’s fresh fruit products.

• SSN distributes and markets a variety of fresh fruits and specializes in local tropical fruits such as the Cavendish Banana, Honi Pineapple, and Crystal Guava grown on 35,600 HA of farmland by PT Great Giant Pineapple (GGP). SSN has also partnered with a large network of local farmers around 500 farmers to produce many types of products, including: Pisang Mas  in East Java; Papaya in Lampung; Rock Melon and Pamelo Oranges in Central Java; Golden Melon in West Java; Medan Oranges and Barangan Bananas in North Sumarta. In addition, Sunpride also has partnerships with international fruit brands, such as Zespri, which is a well-known Kiwi marketer from New Zealand.
  
• The partnership will allow SSN to gain visibility from farm to retail level and engage end consumers with DiMuto Product Passport to further strengthen the Sunpride brand. SSN will deploy several of DiMuto’s Product Features including Trade Management, Product Management, Inspection Management and SMART Marketing to its domestic operations, connecting its sourcing team, warehouse team, quality team, sales team, and marketing team all on one single platform. 
  
• There are additional plans to roll out DiMuto’s Farm Management feature to SSN’s network of local smallholder farmers with the aim of using digital technology to improve their livelihoods with comprehensive and accessible services – including adopting commercially viable and sustainable farming methods through education and training, access to credit and insurance, as well as downstream customer engagement by allowing farmers to record trades, track, receive and access payments.

Singapore, 25 February 2022 –

DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company that provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global AgriFood Business, has partnered with PT Sewu Segar Nusantara (SSN), a leading local fruit distributor and marketer in Indonesia, to implement blockchain traceability to SSN’s fresh produce business, for food safety and supply chain visibility, starting with its Pisang Mas products.

SSN is part of Great Giant Foods, the corporate arm of Gunung Sewu Group and a leading vertically integrated food and agricultural products, which encompasses fresh and processed fruits, packaged foods, and beverage as well as protein and dairy products. SSN has a huge distribution network covering many cities in several major regions of Indonesia, through general trade and modern trade in collaboration with many sub-distributors, wholesalers, retailers, modern market to distribute Sunpride’s fresh fruit products.

SSN distributes and markets a variety of fresh fruits and specializes in local tropical fruits such as the Cavendish Banana, Honi Pineapple, and Crystal Guava. SSN’s plantations are nestled in Lampung on the southern tip of Sumatra, a key region for growing tropical fruit. One plantation owned and managed by Great Giant Pineapple in Terbanggi, Lampung Tengah, covers 35,600 HA. SSN has also partnered with a large network of local farmers around 500 farmers to produce many types of products, including: Pisang Mas in East Java; Papaya in Lampung; Rock Melon and Pamelo Oranges in Central Java; Golden Melon in West Java; Medan Oranges and Barangan Bananas in North Sumatra. In addition, Sunpride also has partnerships with international fruit brands, such as Zespri, a well-known Kiwi marketer from New Zealand.

As the market leader in Indonesia, SSN has implemented a blockchain traceability pilot project, starting with its Sunpride Pisang Mas products – the first Farming Blockchain Traceability of its kind in Indonesia via its partnership with DiMuto. SSN will deploy several of DiMuto’s Product Features including Trade Management, Production Management, Inspection Management and SMART Marketing to its domestic operations, connecting its sourcing team, warehouse team, quality team, sales team, and marketing team all on one single platform. 

Every Pisang Mas fruit and carton moved through SSN’s supply chain will be labelled with DiMuto’s Digitial Identity Labels (DIDs) and be digitalized with DiMuto’s various Digital Asset Creation (DACKY) devices. For instance, at remote packing houses where SSN’s sourcing team works directly with local farmers, a mobile application version of DiMuto’s Production Management specially developed for field operations will be used. 

(L: Sunpride Pisang Mas cartons labelled with DiMuto DIDs, R: SSN employees using DiMuto application to digitize Sunpride Pisang Mas)

The DiMuto Platform then connects digitized physical cartons and fruits to specific trades on its Trade Management feature – unifying product, document, and payment data for every purchase order. The ecosystem of product features on DiMuto enables SSN to see the flow of goods and the flow of money associated with the flow of goods on a single platform. 

As part of this exciting Farming Blockchain Traceability Initiative, SSN is currently working with distributors and retailers such as PT Super Lion Indo, to glean insights on produce quality at the retail level – this data is successfully captured with DiMuto’s Goods Receive Application.  Every transaction created on the DiMuto Platform is automatically uploaded on the blockchain, allowing for an immutable and trusted record of supply chain events. 

“We are pleased to work with DiMuto to deploy blockchain traceability to our supply chain for greater transparency that we can share with customers of Sunpride,” said Cindyanto Kristian, President Director of PT Sewu Segar Nusantara. “ With blockchain traceability we are now able to efficiently and effectively trace and track each banana down to a particular famer from a particular region as it travels through our supply chain.  We believe that the blockchain is the future of agri-food process. This helps us to better manage our product quality and safety for our consumers. “

For end consumers, SSN has launched Product Passports for its Sunpride Pisang Mas, enabling end consumers from the Jakarta and Surabaya regions to easily access product traceability information simply by scanning the DiMuto DID QR on the bananas. Consumers will be able to see pertinent provenance data, such as farm information and packing information for each fruit. They will also be able to learn more about the farmers, health benefits, brand information as well as provide feedback about the product directly to SSN. 

(L: Sunpride Pisang Mas with DiMuto DID QRs and Product Passport, R: Sunpride Product Passport)

“We are excited to leverage this opportunity with a leading company like PT Sewu Segar Nusantara to help them achieve full supply chain visibility that benefit the various stakeholders along the supply chain, including farmers, retailers and end consumers. By working closely with the local farmers to expand our traceability capabilities to the source, we can embark on smallholder farmer digitalization and financing as part of our vision to use data as a driving force behind sustainable agriculture,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto. 

There are also plans to implement DiMuto’s Farm Management feature to its network of smallholder farmers as part of its plan to trace its products down to the source and improving the farmers’ livelihoods through digitalization technology. Currently, only 1.7% of climate finance is going to small-scale farmers in developing countries despite their disproportionate vulnerability to climate change impacts and their contribution to 50% of the world’s food calories, according to a report by UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Climate Policy Initiative (CPI). This is exacerbated by the fact that 78% of the world’s poorest live in rural areas and rely largely on agricultural work to make a living, as reported by World Bank. 

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DiMuto’s Farm Management Application

The DiMuto Farm Management application provides comprehensive services to small-scale farmers, such as adopting commercially viable and sustainable farming methods through education and training, access to credit and insurance, as well as downstream customer engagement by allowing farmers to record trades, track, receive and access payments.      

DiMuto’s partnership with PT Sewu Segar Nusantara follows closely after the company secured its series A funding in September last year and is part of the company’s efforts to strengthen its presence in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation.

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About PT Sewu Segar Nusantara

PT Sewu Segar Nusantara was founded in 1995 as a member of the leading investment group Gunung Sewu Kencana (GSK) which has broad expertise in several fields including food, agribusiness, life insurance, consumer goods, natural resources, information technology and property. The business units of the GSK group have established an extensive distribution network across the archipelago as well as strong supplier and retailer relationships.PT Sewu Segar Nusantara focuses on local fruit distribution and marketing in collaboration with PT Great Giant Pineapple to produce several local fruits grown in the Lampung area on more than 35,600 hectares of land including Cavendish Bananas, Guava Crystal and Honi Pineapple. In addition,SSN has also partnered with a large network of local farmers around 500 farmers to produce many types of products, including: Pisang Mas in East Java; Papaya in Lampung; Rock Melon and Pamelo Oranges in Central Java; Golden Melon in West Java; Medan Oranges and Barangan Bananas in North Sumarta.

About DiMuto

DiMuto provides agrifood companies with data they can see and trust, down to every single product of every trade, where they can easily see all that is happening for every trade transaction in an organized manner, on one single platform. 

DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provide sales, marketing, operations, financing and insurance tools so businesses can trade better.

Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business.

With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence.

Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.

[PRESS RELEASE]

DiMuto welcomes Julie Escobar as the new Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer

• DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company, further strengthens its executive leadership with the appointment of Nexus Agrotec’s Founder & President Julie Escobar as its Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, who will be strategically advising DiMuto on all commercial & strategic areas of global growth.
  
• Julie Escobar brings two decades of fresh produce industry experience to DiMuto with deep expertise in business development and export opportunities from Latin America to Europe and Asia. Her latest experience includes Senior Vice President of Partnerships at Renewable Resources Group, a stint as Vice President of Global Sales for Sun World International and overseeing international new business development for C.H. Robinson Worldwide.

• Mrs. Escobar will be responsible for expanding DiMuto’s key commercial activities including global business development and go-to-market strategic execution. Mrs. Escobar will work closely with DiMuto’s Global Executive with the aim of accelerating DiMuto’s market presence in the US and Latin America markets.
  
• The new addition to DiMuto’s Executive team comes off the back of the company’s Series A funding round late last year, and follows client wins and expansion including PT Sewu Segar Nusantara and SunMoon Food.

Singapore, 25 January 2022 – DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company that provides
end-to-end supply chain visibility for global AgriFood businesses, appointed Julie Escobar, Founder and President of Nexus Agrotec, as its Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer. Effective immediately, the pivotal new role will provide strategic leadership across the business and accelerate DiMuto’s market presence in the United States and Latin America region.

Leveraging two decades of fresh produce experience to the DiMuto team, Escobar will shape and define DiMuto’s strategy, priorities, and long-term direction in its key markets with her expertise in developing multimillion-dollar global business success and effectively leading international project teams across multiple lines of business, geographic borders, time zones, and culture.

“We are excited to partner with the Nexus Agrotec team, currently led by Julie. On our journey of international scalability, Julie’s experience is critical to our ability to grow and service our existing and new customer accounts,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto. “Julie is an outstanding veteran leader in the fresh produce industry and has helped companies achieve tremendous growth with domestic and international opportunities. I believe that she will be a valuable addition to get DiMuto to our next stage.”

Prior to her current position as Founder and President of Nexus Agrotec, a consulting firm helping AgTech businesses to expand sales growth around the world, Julie Escobar was the Senior Vice President of Partnerships at Renewable Resources Group, overseeing strategic investments in sustainable agriculture in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. Before that, she was the Vice President of Global Sales for Sun World International, where she was instrumental in elevating the Sun World brand and building their export team.

In addition, Julie Escobar is the Co-Founder and President of Global Women Fresh, a global non-profit organization working to close the gender divide in the produce industry and provide opportunities for Women in Produce to network, connect and learn across the fresh food supply chain.

“DiMuto is uniquely equipped to help produce companies overcome the challenges of operating the ‘Messy Middle’ of international supply chains with its strong suite of trade solutions. The commitment to drive positive changes in the global agriculture landscape with data by using solutions that truly cater to how the industry operates is something I am proud to now be a part of,” said Julie Escobar, Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer of DiMuto. “I strongly believe that what DiMuto has to offer will provide great benefits to the different stakeholders in the agriculture industry. I cannot wait to help shape and drive the company forward.” The latest addition to DiMuto’s Executive team comes off the back of the company’s Series A funding round late last year and follows several industry partnerships with companies such as PT Sewu Segar Nusantara and SunMoon Food in Asia.

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About DiMuto

DiMuto provides agrifood companies with data they can see and trust, down to every single product of every trade, where they can easily see all that is happening for every trade transaction in an organized manner, on one single platform.

DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provide sales, marketing, operations, financing and insurance tools so businesses can trade better.

Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade
landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business.

With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence.

Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions
in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries
and five continents. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the
Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io

[PRESS RELEASE]

AgriFood Trade Solution DiMuto Raises US$2.35million Series A Funding to Advance Its Global Network and Agri-financial Services

• DiMuto, a global AgriFood trade solutions company from Singapore, bags US$2.35million in Series A funding led by The Yield Lab Asia Pacific. The Yield Lab is joined by SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, PT Great Giant Pineapple, Patrick Vizzone, Ocean Crests Investments, and Asia Capital Pioneers Group. Existing investors include SGInnovate and Latin Leap. DiMuto is also a portfolio company of PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub’s programme.
  
• The latest funding validates recent progress and significant market opportunity, enabling DiMuto to scale up product development and meet growing demand for AgriFood trade visibility and trade financing.
  
• DiMuto’s AgriFood trade solution unifies product, document and payments on a single platform, tracking the flow of goods along with respective flow of payments and creating a data-driven foundation for business visibility, trade financing, and insurance.

• DiMuto’s AgriFood financing services tackle the US$1.9 Trillion global trade finance gap, estimated by experts to be as high as US$3.4 Trillion due to Covid-19, by making trade financing accessible to unbanked Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in AgriFood trade that have long faced difficulties accessing formal financing due to factors like creditworthiness, collateral requirements, short-term liquidity, and political or currency risk.
  
• By using proprietary technology developed using blockchain, cloud, IoT and AI to create combined visibility between movement of goods and movement of money on DiMuto Platform, DiMuto enables primary data collection for valuable insights allowing AgriFood business leaders to better manage their supply chain in a more efficient and sustainable manner.

Singapore, 21 September 2021 – DiMuto, a global AgriFood trade solutions company that provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global AgriFood trade, today announced its successful US$2.35million Series A raise.  This round was led by globally prominent AgTech investor The Yield Lab Asia Pacific with participation from SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, PT Great Giant Pineapple, Patrick Vizzone, Ocean Crest Investments and Asia Capital Pioneers Group.  This round follows DiMuto’s pre-series funding in 2019 and 2020, which saw investments from SGInnovate and Latin Leap.

The Series A raise validates the company’s recent progress and significant market opportunity, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Funds raised will enable DiMuto to scale up product development and meet the growing demand for AgriFood trade visibility as well as trade financing.

Creating product and data visibility for global AgriFood trade, DiMuto offers AgriFood supply chain stakeholders such as farmers, packers, exporters, traders, wholesalers, and retailers the ability to see the flow of goods and the flow of money associated with the flow of goods on a single Super Platform.  DiMuto effectively adds value by providing business intelligence with its ecosystem of applications and modules so that AgriFood companies can optimize their operations. The Super Platform generates up to 30% price premiums for traceable products as well as reduces up to 50% losses arising from trade disputes for its customers.

“DiMuto was really born out of my dual experiences of operating in the Finance world for 15 years and operating a global fresh fruits and vegetables marketer and distributor. During my ten-year stint in the food industry, I realized there’s an urgent need for business leaders to be able to see all aspects of their business right down to the granular detail of each box, each payment, and each receipt, as well as see the auxiliary service providers supporting their operations. Being able to capture and have the visual confirmation of such business data on a single platform helps business leaders run the organization better,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto.

DiMuto’s AgriFood trade solutions offer greater visibility through end-to-end global food supply chains, providing AgriFood business leaders with actionable insights that help them better manage their supply chain, both more efficiently and more sustainably. Complex yet siloed food supply chains have made it challenging for companies to maximize value from their supply chains and ensure adherence to green and sustainable practices. Globally, as revealed by a study from logistics company GEODIS, as many as 62% of companies worldwide have limited visibility of their supply chain, with only 15% of companies having visibility on “just in time” production and only 6% reporting full visibility.

“The Yield Lab is always looking for high-impact start-ups with technology solutions that sustainably revolutionizes the Global AgriFood system.  The benefits achieved in finding new innovation to increase yield in food production can only be felt if that food that is harvested, and processed, enters an efficient supply chain. The need for transparency of trade from farm to fork has long been discussed and desired, but yet still is not widely adopted.  What DiMuto has developed is technology that affordably integrates data into actionable insights, tracking the state of the trade while simultaneously providing meaningful value to each of the different constituents along the supply chain.  For the retailers, distributors, insurers, and the providers of transportation and with trade financing, with DiMuto finally a safe, efficient, accountable, and sustainable supply chain is now within everyone’s reach” said Claire Pribula, Co-founder and Managing Director of The Yield Lab Asia Pacific. “The fragility of global supply chains was made evident at the height of the COVID pandemic, causing significant supply chain disruptions. DiMuto provides the ability to smooth out irregularities, increasing the shelf life and diminishing food waste.”

“Asia Capital Pioneers Group sees immense potential for trade technology solutions like DiMuto. There are also synergies with our investment in payments fintech Aleta Planet, whose account issuance capabilities can power DiMuto’s e-wallet, to plug the payment component within DiMuto’s ecosystem. We believe this can be scaled to a much larger audience across the globe and are excited to be a part of this avant-garde technology,” said Mr. Ryan Gwee, Chairman of Asia Capital Pioneers Group.

With its Produce, Trade and Market modules, DiMuto provides visibility on product quality, documents, and payment records for each stage of the supply chain. From pre-shipment farm production through to post-shipment product receipts, DiMuto enables AgriFood companies to fully see their supply chain, providing essential quantitative data that helps them to monitor and manage Environmental, Social and Governmental (ESG) risks across their global supply chains. The ability to capture and organize such data also helps DiMuto’s financing services to verify that ESG standards are met as part of its green finance and impact investing initiative.

“PT Great Giant Pineapple prides ourselves on our green agricultural practices and putting our farmers at the heart of what we do. Having the ability to visualise our operations all on a single platform will certainly enable a global company like ours to better run our business and improve on our mission. We believe that data visibility and supply chain digitalization is the next forefront of the AgriFood industry, and we are excited to support the application of DiMuto’s solutions,” said Husodo Angkosubroto, majority shareholder of PT Great Giant Pineapple. PT Great Giant Pineapple is one of the top three producers of pineapples worldwide supplying of the world’s canned pineapples, with businesses involving fresh produce distribution and export as well.

By using its proprietary technology developed using IOT, cloud, blockchain and AI to create combined visibility between movement of goods and movement of money on the DiMuto Platform, The Company has further developed its own Proprietary Visual Inspection Module to help standardise the specification of fresh produce using AI. DiMuto thus enables primary data collection for valuable insights allowing AgriFood business leaders to better manage their supply chain in a more efficient and sustainable manner.

DiMuto’s unique ability to digitalize and unify product, document and payment on a single platform helps form a more accurate profile of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that is data-driven, and trade-centric, enabling SMEs to access alternative trade financing opportunities.  Globally, the current US$1.9 Trillion trade finance gap is estimated, by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), to increase to US$3.4 trillion due to Covid-19. The trade financing gap has hit SMEs the hardest, with over 40% of trade finance applications by SMEs being rejected, as stated by Asian Development Bank (ADB). Despite being the largest contributor to the economy and employment, SMEs struggle to obtain financing from traditional institutions, due to factors such as creditworthiness, collateral requirements, short-term liquidity, and political or currency risks. Helping to counter these factors, DiMuto has developed its proprietary TRADE HEALTH AI module to generate a grading score and a credit score to manage the credit risk of the trade. Based on this, DiMuto will be able to fill the trade financing gap by offering financing for its AgriFood customers.

Despite Covid-19, DiMuto has executed implementations in Indonesia, China, South Africa, Ghana, Malaysia, Kenya, and Colombia over the last six months, with 25 more projects in the pipeline. The company has specifically designed their proprietary digitalization devices, otherwise known as a Digital Asset Creation device (DACKY), in the form of a flyaway kit that enables implementation on the ground to be easily completed in as short as one week.

“I am truly humbled and honoured to have such a broad group of stakeholders, resulting in a unique combination of people and organization to solve a truly global problem of food waste and trade visibility. By removing the friction and inefficiency, we are focusing the use of data to truly build a more Green and sustainable future,” Loh adds. In the near future, the company expects rapid growth with existing and new client partners, providing DiMuto with a key opportunity to expand DiMuto’s portfolio and trade financing applications.    -end-  

About The Yield Lab The Yield Lab Asia Pacific is an AgTech focused fund and part of the global The Yield Lab network of regional Funds based in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.  Created in 2014 as the first early-stage Seed and Series A fund devoted to identifying and advancing Agriculture industry innovation.  Managed by industry experienced teams who have the knowledge, relationships and vision to stimulate, invest and scale sustainable AgTech innovations, The Yield Lab invests across all Agriculture sectors:  Crop Production,  Animal Health,  Precision Agriculture,  Sustainability, Supply Chain and Food Ingredients, in order to deliver financial results alongside positive impacts that solve the global problem of feeding 10B people by 2050 sustainably. For further information please visit: www.theyieldlab.asia

About SEEDS Capital As the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, SEEDS Capital catalyses smart investments into innovative Singapore-based startups with strong intellectual content and global market potential. We co-invest with independent investors in innovative startups. We help our startups commercialize and expand globally through leveraging on the expertise and strategic networks of our co-investment partners in areas such as technology translation, commercialization and market expansion. Through co-investments, SEEDS Capital aims to catalyze investments into nascent and strategic sectors. These include Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, Health & Biomedical Sciences, Urban Solutions & Sustainability, and Services & Digital Economy.  

About PT Great Giant Pineapple PT Great Giant Pineapple (GGP) has become the largest private label manufacturer of canned pineapples in the world and a prominent source of premium pineapples and fresh fruits. The company currently exports more than 15,000 containers to over 60 countries worldwide and has a representative company in the USA, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. Boasting extensive plantations, one in every four canned pineapples in the world today originates from GGP. Aside from canned pineapple, pineapple jam, pineapple cubes in cups, and pineapple juice concentrate, GGP also produce canned tropical fruit cocktail. For further information, visit www.greatgiantpineapple.com

About Asia Capital Pioneers Group Founded in 2011, Asia Capital Pioneers Group started as a Hong Kong-based family office to provide wealth management and legacy planning for some of Asia’s wealthiest families. It has developed a reputation of delivering above-market returns for its clients, through global investments within high growth industries such as real estate and fintech. As the controlling shareholder for several investments such as Songdo International Business District and payments fintech Aleta Planet, Asia Capital Pioneers Group has leveraged its management expertise, global connections, and business know-how to multiply the value of its investments. It also seeks to identify cross-synergies between its investment vehicles for greater efficiencies and business growth. For further information, visit www.asiacapitalpg.com 

About DiMuto DiMuto simplifies every step of global AgriFood trade. From produce, to trade, to market, our AgriFood Trade Solutions help growers, exporters and importers to trade efficiently with better visibility and finance. Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business. With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence. Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced millions of pieces of produce and millions in dollars of trade value on the DiMuto platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries on five continents.

DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io ## For media queries, please contact: HuiMin Lee Email: huimin@dimuto.io