AgriProtein

AgriProtein was founded in 2008 to provide an ecologically sound replacement for fishmeal, which is increasingly expensive because of the depletion of fish stocks.^[6][10] The AgriProtein process is noteworthy in that it diverts organic waste from landfills.^[11] After consultation with a researcher at Stellenbosch University, a presentation at Tedx in 2011, and approximately five years of development, the company opened its first commercial factory in 2015^[11][10] in Philippi,^[12] near Cape Town International Airport. They received $11 million in initial investment funding,^[4] including two grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.^[8]

Under a partnership instituted in February 2017 with Christof Industries [de], an Austrian engineering company, AgriProtein plans to establish standardised industrial-scale factories globally.^{[8][9][11][13]} In 2018, they raised $105 million in funding,^[7][8][14] the 18th largest recorded agricultural technology deal^[6] and the largest in the insect farming sector at the time,^[15] and agreed to buy Millibeter, a Belgian company in Turnhout.^[16][17]

They were awarded the 2013 United Nations Innovation Prize for Africa,^[10] have won the Australian Government's Blue Economy Challenge,^[10] were named a Global Cleantech 100 company in both 2017 and 2018,^[14] in 2017 were the first Food Chain Global Champion in the BBC Food & Farming Awards,.^[10][18][19] They were also included in Time's first annual list of "top 50 Genius Companies" in 2018.^[20][21]

AgriProtein have licensees worldwide and research centres studying fly genetics, insect breeding, and production of antibiotics for feed from larval proteins.^[9]

• Official website