FOLLOWING the success of its international launch last month, Rooted, an urban farming micro-learning platform, is all set for its kick off in the Philippines this October, revealed an agriculture technology (agtech) entrepreneur.
“Your country has a young and dynamic population, and a strong food culture. As our content will evolve with our user base, they could be a driving force in the evolution of Rooted,” ID Capital Pte Ltd. chief executive officer Isabelle Decitre told the BusinessMirror in an e-mail interview.
This site, which she established with fellow agtech businesswoman Nicola Kerslake of Contain Inc., combines their extensive network of urban farming gurus with endless research into the best way to learn and build a new tech-enabled way to get into farming.
The primary audience of Rooted is any corporation whose wellness program engages remote work forces with a fresh approach. It also integrates seamlessly into corporate sustainability initiatives of an organization.
“As in all countries, we target people living in large cities and working for corporations who have [or would like to] develop corporate engagement programs, employee engagement programs and have a sustainability agenda,” she said.
The platform takes input from farming experts, such as Cornell University and SananBio, and reimagines it in non-technical language, creating stories that cultivators can navigate at their own pace.
“We realized people were weary of endless webinars and Zoom meetings, we wanted to create something bite sized and interactive,” said Kerslake.
Rooted has already been successfully piloted by Danone and Dole Philippines employees. It will shortly be trialed by a tech major.
The team is aided by advice from Kerry Gumas, former president and CEO of Questex, a leading global event and media company; and by Julia Harrison, executive producer and series creator, food and lifestyle programming and digital content for PBS and Food Network.
The global urban farming platform is now ready for roll out to additional clients across the world.
“Although we proactively steer our development strategically with a focus on some countries, we are happy to go to the countries our clients want us to go to,” Decitre said.
“In October we will have our first users in the Philippines, as we are working with a large tech firm who has decided to bring his employees based in the Philippines into the platform,” she added.
Bullish about the local market’s response, she said that they would not be surprised if, from their user base, there were talents emerging from this country, “combining a taste for technology, a connection with farming inherited from their family.”
ID Capital is an investment and advisory firm based in Singapore specialized in the domain of agritech and foodtech in the Asia-Pacific region.
Contain Inc. is an American fintech platform dedicated to indoor agriculture, the practice of growing crops in warehouses, greenhouses and container farms.