Agri-Food Trade Tech Solutions DiMuto Receives Investment from Latin Leap Venture Capital Studio to Broaden Footprint in Latin America

[Joint Press Release DiMuto – Latin Leap]
Agri-Food Trade Tech Solutions DiMuto Receives Investment from Latin Leap Venture Capital Studio to Broaden Footprint in Latin America
  • DiMuto, a Singapore-based trade solutions platform, has secured funding from Latin Leap, a Venture Capital Studio focusing on opening up opportunities in Latin America for Southeast Asian tech-scale ups
  • Through blockchain, IoT and AI, DiMuto uses data from digitalising agri-food supply chain to build trusts amongst supply chain stakeholders and solve agri-food supply chain problems such as food wastage, food safety and food sustainability
  • Latin Leap joins other investors including First Alverstone Capital, SGInnovate and PwC Singapore
  • Funding and support from Latin Leap will expedite DiMuto’s growth in agri-food trade and export driven Latin America
Singapore, 30 March 2020 – DiMuto, a trade tech solutions platform that provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global agri-food businesses, has raised capital from venture capital studio Latin Leap. The investment and support provided by Latin Leap would help drive further international expansion in Latin America, a market where strong continued growth of fresh produce trade is expected. A region that has positioned itself as a leading exporter of agricultural products, Latin America’s fruit and vegetable production and exports have grown considerably, particularly for tropical fruits such as bananas, avocados, pineapples and mangoes. According to a 2019 report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), tropical fruits accounted for a total export value of around US$15.5 billion in Latin America from 2016-18 and overall agricultural trade surplus has steadily increased over the past two decades to reach US$104.3 billion in 2017. “With the strong outlook for the agricultural sector in Latin America, I believe that the industry would benefit from digitalization and traceability offered by DiMuto that would bring peace of mind to consumers around the world. DiMuto fits perfectly into our investment thesis of soft-landing tech-enabled businesses with a positive impact on society in Latin America. We are proud to accompany its growth path in the region,” said Stefan Krautwald, General Partner of Latin Leap. Latin Leap, a newly formed Venture Capital Studio focusing on opening up opportunities in Latin America for Southeast Asian tech-scale ups, is set to base its fund structures out of Singapore with the aim of becoming a partner in the internationalization of the region’s tech sector. Using blockchain, IoT and AI in its trade solutions, DiMuto digitalizes the agri-food supply chain for data visibility and trade transparency, aiming to solve the industry’s various challenges such as food waste, food safety and food sustainability. DiMuto creates traceability for every single fruit as they move through the supply chain – from farms, factories, cold chain to distribution channels and end consumers. Through its proprietary Digital Asset Creation devices (DACky), DiMuto tags each fruit and carton with QR labels and captures images of every carton. Data such as relevant trade documents is then associated with the product information and uploaded onto its blockchained trade platform, effectively reducing disputes over quality and creating trust amongst trade parties. “We are excited to have Latin Leap join us as an investor and partner to grow our presence in Latin America. With data captured using our solutions, stakeholders in the agri-food supply chain are now able to see the quality of fresh produce before it is being shipped, creating trust and visibility in the uncertainty brought on by COVID-19,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto. Enterprise Singapore supported DiMuto’s internationalization journey in Latin America by providing market insights, sourcing suitable in-market partners such as Latin Leap, patent filing, proof of concept and assisting with business development and branding efforts. Kathy Lai, Deputy CEO of Enterprise Singapore said “A diversified supply chain is part of business continuity planning for companies in today’s operating environment.  Secure digital solutions will be key to address shifts and disruptions in global supply chains, particularly in food security.  Good traceability systems assure safety and quality in global food supply chains. We look forward to assisting more Singapore start-ups like DiMuto in Latin America to support the region’s food sustainability efforts.” To date, DiMuto has tagged over 30 million fruits and tracked and traced over US$100million worth of agrifood trades. With presence in 7 countries including US, China, Indonesia, Australia and Mexico, the new funding and strategic support from Latin Leap will allow DiMuto to further capitalize on its global growth momentum and help drive further international expansion in new markets in Latin America over the next few months.   -end-   About DiMuto DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce. The DiMuto Track & Trace blockchain platform creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over seven countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by executive chairman Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.   About Latin Leap Latin Leap is a Venture Capital Studio (VC Studio) being established to create a unique impact investment platform to soft-land purpose-driven tech companies in Latin America and provide access of international scale-ups to deploy in Latin America.  The VC Studio global tech companies with human and financial commitment, and contribute to quality education by fostering knowledge-intensive businesses in the region The main pursuits in the Latin Leap VC Studio are:
  1. Impact Investment: The investment sweet spot is on purpose-driven companies with proven product market fits from any tech-hub in the world. The initial investment focus country is Singapore, as a result of the strong ecosystem relationships on the market. Latin Leap is an agnostic fund, but tends to target Edtech, Fintech, Cleantech, Agtech, Healthtech and Mobility verticals.
  2. Soft-landing: Latin Leap is scheduled to operate with the efficiencies of tech-based companies, offering preferred access to experienced Venture Partners as gatekeepers, and access to Corporate Partnerships as well as a unique geographical footprint in the testbed market Colombia.
About Enterprise Singapore Enterprise Singapore is the Singapore government agency championing enterprise development. It also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups. The agency attracts global commodities traders to establish their global or Asian home base in Singapore. Today, Singapore is a leading global trading hub with a complete ecosystem for the energy, agri-commodities and metals & minerals trading clusters. Singapore is also home to many global enterprises, startups and investors that operate in its robust pro-enterprise environment. Enterprise Singapore builds trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards. Renowned for their dedication to quality and innovation, Singapore companies make ideal business partners. With Enterprise Singapore’s global network in over 35 locations spanning many developed and emerging markets, it connects businesses with relevant Singapore companies for their business expansion. Visit www.enterprisesg.gov.sg for more information. ## For media queries, please contact: HuiMin LEE Email: huimin@dimuto.io –
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