Rize

Recently, the team at Rize had the chance to (re)connect with old and new friends in the broader agri-ecosystem during the Singapore International Agri-Food Week and Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit, organized by Rethink Events in Singapore. Over the course of three days, our team - Dhruv Sawhney, Siem D. Schreurs, and Sheetal Sharma led engaging discussions on critical topics shaping the future of sustainable rice farming, including: 🌾 A panel on “Decarbonization Opportunities in Rice Cultivation” 🌱 A roundtable on “From Pilot to Scale: Lessons from Applying AWD in Rice Cultivation” 📲 A panel on “Digital Transformation of the Agrifood System for Food Security” 📍 There are 3 Key points we take from the Insightful Week: 1️⃣ Compared to earlier editions, the smallholder rice emission challenge really took center stage this year with many sessions hosted to bring the right actors together and share critical learnings. 2️⃣ The real challenge isn’t a lack of sustainable technologies or practices—it’s driving farmer adoption through the right incentives. By doing so, we can unlock partnerships across the value chain, from input providers to retail brands, to scale meaningful impact. 3️⃣ Discussions on pricing risk and return for smallholders often missed a critical point: the escalating cost of inaction. Adverse weather impact, pests, and disease are continuously taking a toll on yield, and delays will only intensify these challenges. The time to act is now! 💚 🤝 Thanks to all of our friends, colleagues, and partners for making this happen, allowing us to strengthen our shared belief - in a greener and better future. 🌏 ❓ Any key insights from the event or the world of sustainable farming and agriculture we might miss? Would love to hear your thoughts! 😊

Last week, Rize team gathered together in-person for our Q4 Board Meeting, joined by Peter T. (Breakthrough Energy ), Chelsea Lee (GenZero), ChunCheng Yeo (Temasek), Edphawin Jetjirawat, and Marie Cheong (Wavemaker Impact). 📍 This event spanned across 3 days where we reflected on our progress, strategized current and new opportunities, and visited our operations in the Indramayu region in Indonesia. Besides marking the year end, it also symbolized the transition into an exciting new chapter for Rize: scaling and expansion. 🌱 Some areas we are developing; 1️⃣ Develop Rize into an all-in-one independent decarbonization platform where agronomists, farmers, paddy buyers, and offtakers can get access to the right incentives, unanticipated innovation and scientific-backed solutions. 2️⃣ Expand our reach of rice farmers through launching offtake partnerships that support large buyers and retail partners who trade, manufacture and develop products from rice. Rize enables traceable, low-emission high-quality rice from trusted farming communities. 3️⃣ Develop robust tools such as credit scoring models, and insurance-backed financing to derisk lending operations, ensuring that input financing and working capital solutions empower farmers and paddy buyers to thrive. 💪 Rize is continually working to maximize impact, returns, and optimize the user experience for our stakeholders. More to come and our team are all enthused with opportunities, and challenges are waiting for us! 👉 If you or your company share our vision, we would love to connect and explore collaboration. Together, let’s transform the future of rice! 🤝 🌾 💚 Dhruv Sawhney | Tudor Coman | Stefanie Koh | Siem D. Schreurs | Piyush Nagar | Sheetal Sharma

🌏 🌱 Seeding the Future: Transforming Smallholder Farms for a Sustainable Tomorrow", by Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP), Wavemaker Impact and Philanthropy Asia Alliance. The report highlights Southeast Asia's journey to becoming the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2030, with food consumption expected to grow 40% by 2050. Yet, the region’s smallholder farmers face fragmented farms, aging populations, and the effect of climate change. As noted by Siem D. Schreurs, head of Fintech and Partnership at Rize: "You really need to have people on the ground to provide assistance and solve for sustainable practice adoption. The key to scaling is enabling this with technology.” 🌾 The report also underscores the rice’s pivotal role in the region, its impacts and opportunities: 1️⃣ Rice is a staple providing 50% of caloric intake. 2️⃣ Rice cultivation accounts for nearly 80% of crop-related emissions. 3️⃣ Sustainable practices like Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) can cut water use by 30% and methane emissions by up to 70%. Alongside Rize, each startup mentioned plays a role in advancing sustainable agriculture and smallholder support, including: Agros | Proximity Finance | RegenX | CROWDE | MAYANI | FoodMap 🤝 Together, let’s build a future where smallholder farmers thrive, agriculture sustains, and the planet flourishes. 💚

Rize teamed up with IPB University to tackle the Indonesian farmers' biggest challenge: rat control. 🐀❌ Last week, the winners of the Rodent Control Hackathon, hosted by Rize and IPB University were officially announced! As judges, we were truly inspired by the creativity and passion displayed by the students. Here’s a glimpse of the top 3 ideas: 🏆Number One An IoT-based system using ultrasonic sensors, automatic barrier traps, and solar energy to control rice field rats sustainably, boosting agricultural productivity. ☀ 🥈Runner-up: Detik Team A smart rat detection system leveraging sensors to trigger alarms and ultrasonic sound waves, combined with organic formula pesticide. 🔊 🥉Ratbusters An innovative trap using roasted coconut bait, motion sensors, and solar power. The system quickly traps and composts rats, enriching the soil. 🥥 As part of our partnership with IPB University - ranked #1 in Agriculture and Forestry in ASEAN, Rize is excited to help these student teams bring their ideas to life. 🤝 Together, we'll test their solutions in the field, fine-tune their effectiveness, and explore real-world scalability to make a lasting impact for farmers. 👨🌾🌱

Last month, we wrapped up an impactful two-day training in Yogyakarta, Indonesia with our dedicated team of agronomists! From deepening our understanding of rice crop management and sustainable practices to honing essential skills, each session was designed to empower our work on the ground. This training wasn’t just about sharing knowledge—it was about building a stronger future for sustainable agriculture and supporting each other on this journey. Huge thanks to our trainers, organizers, and everyone who contributed their insights to make this event a success. Here’s to empowering growth, together! 🌾 #Agritech #Training #SustainableFarming

Last month, Siem D. Schreurs - our Head of Fintech and Partnerships, represented Rize at the IFA Crossroads Asia-Pacific Conference in Hong Kong, joining nearly 200 companies from 40 countries, hosted by the International Fertilizer Association (IFA). 📍These are our 3 key takeaways; 1️⃣ Farmers <> Climate Impact: Smallholder rice farmers are both victims and contributors to climate change, with fertilizers as a costly and significant source of N₂O emissions. 2️⃣ Adoption Challenges: Farmers rely on traditional practices and agriculture inputs, fearing new methods may impact yields and income. 3️⃣ Innovation <> Collaboration: Though precise data and quality inputs are critical to transition but at the same time hard to secure, effective collaboration in the value chain can make it happen. 🌱 Rize provides a comprehensive platform that empowers farmers with practices like Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) and Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) to optimize fertilizer use, increase soil quality, optimize crop productivity and reduce emissions. 👉 If you are a startup or company with innovative solutions on e.g. fertilizer or any other rice input, residue management or towards sustainable rice supply chain, we’d love to connect! We’re open to any approaches that reduce emissions and improve farmer livelihoods across the value chain. 🤝 Together, Let's make rice green again!

🌏 💚 On this International Day of Climate Action, we’re excited to announce that Rize has been recognized on the SL25 Honourees List by Stewardship Asia Centre! Steward Leadership 25 (SL25) recognises businesses that have done well by doing good. This list highlights companies making a positive impact through stewardship (ESG, sustainability, or responsible investing) without compromising profitability or growth. Stefanie Koh represented Rize at the ceremony dinner and proudly accepted the honouree award. This recognition celebrates our commitment to sustainable farming, and our positive impact on the planet. Thank you to our incredible team and partners who made this possible. Let's make rice green again! 🌾 🌱 #Rize #AgriTech #ClimateAction #SL25 #StewardLeadership

🌏 Destination Southeast Asia 2024 Report: A Region to Watch 🌱 Founders Forum Group & Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) recently published their Destination Southeast Asia 2024 Report. The outlook for Southeast Asia (SEA) and Climate-tech remains positive and exciting. Despite the current funding winter, we’re confident the region will emerge stronger in the coming years. 💪 Here’s a quick summary for busy professionals: 1️⃣ SEA’s tech start-up ecosystem has more than tripled in value over the past 5 years, increasing more than 46X over the past decade. 📈   2️⃣ Singapore is the region’s leading investment hub, accounting for 63% of total investments, followed by Indonesia and Vietnam.   3️⃣ Southeast Asia continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investment. In 2023, 83% of VC investment into SEA tech start-ups came from outside the region—primarily from the rest of Asia (59%), the US (14%), and Europe (9%). 🌍   4️⃣ 272 SEA tech companies exited in 2023: 83% through acquisition, 4% via buyouts, and 13% through IPOs.   5️⃣ Climatetech is the #1 frontier tech investment, raising $512 million in 2023. 💚   6️⃣ Wavemaker Partners & Wavemaker Impact are proud to have 4 portfolio companies featured in the report’s 50 Startups to Watch. Check them out here:    - Rize (https://rize.farm/) 🌾     - Borneo (https://borneo.io/) 🌍     - WIZ.AI (https://wiz.ai/) 🤖     - Dat Bike (https://dat.bike/) 🏍️  🔗 Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/g64RCsqy and let us know your thoughts. #SoutheastAsia #Climatetech #VCInvestment #TechStartups #SEAInnovation #WavemakerImpact #Sustainability #GreenTech #Singapore #InnovationEcosystem

We're excited to announce that Rize is featured as one of Top 50 Southeast Asia Tech Companies to Watch, by Founders Forum Group 🌾 The report highlights Southeast Asia’s booming tech ecosystem, which has reached a record $454B valuation and is on track to become the 4th largest economy by 2030. We’re proud to lead the way in agri-tech innovation, driving long-lasting change through sustainable farming practices and tech solutions that (1) reduce emissions, (2) increase yields and (3) improve the livelihoods of smallholder rice farmers. 👩🌾🌱 Check out the link to learn more about us, and other notable startups in the region: https://lnkd.in/gFzKJx42 This is just the beginning! 🚀

Ever wondered what it takes to build and scale a B2B business in India? 🤔 Dhruv Sawhney, the founder behind Wotu Technologies Pvt Ltd (now acquired by Zomato) and Rize, shares his entrepreneurial journey on the latest episode of Weekend Entrepreneurs. In this episode, Dhruv dives deep into: - How he knew it was time to sell to Zomato - Why building relationships is the key to B2B success - The untapped opportunities in agri-tech and beyond 🔥 Plus, he reveals gaps in the Indian startup ecosystem that savvy entrepreneurs can still fill. Check out the full conversation on YouTube [link in comments]👇 #entrepreneurship #agritech #b2b #foodtech #indianstartups #startuplife