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Koa has increased its equity capital by 15 million dollars in a Series B financing round. According to a press release, the Swiss-Ghanaian start-up based in Zurich intends to further expand its use of the cocoa fruit. The Land Degradation Neutrality Fund led the round with 9 million dollars. It was initiated by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the Geneva-based asset manager Mirova, a subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers.

The Regenerative Growth Fund 1, which is managed by Zebra Impact Ventures and Bank Mirabaud, and the Luxembourg-based Haltra Group have also invested. It had led the Series A financing in 2021. "We are proud to have closed the Series B round in this difficult market environment for investments in start-ups," Koa's CFO Fabien Nizard is quoted as saying.

Koa is the first company in West Africa to establish a new value chain around its previously discarded fruit pulp. In this way, Koa works closely with smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana to reduce food waste on the farms and generate additional income for the families. At the same time, the company provides new ingredients for the food and beverage industry.

The deal came just a few months after Koa inaugurated "Africa's largest cocoa fruit factory" in eastern Ghana. The company sees this as the basis for a tenfold increase in production and for cooperation with 10,000 additional cocoa farmers. Koa also intends to develop new cocoa fruit products and expand its marketing and sales activities. The start-up also supports the transition to regenerative agriculture. It is intended to make cocoa cultivation more resilient to the consequences of climate change. ce/mm

As an innovation service provider, the Zurich-based engineering and consulting company Helbling is particularly active in the smart home sector, where various communication systems are currently still established. The Helbling experts help companies to achieve greater standardization. According to a specialist article, a current instrument for this is the new Matter standard. In an ecosystem, it is intended to implement the networking that the Internet of Things (IoT) basically intends: a standardized language for all devices in the household. This could soon make it possible to control the majority of electrical appliances in the home via Matter and a single app.

To date, some products are already compatible with Matter - according to the Helbling analysis, these are mainly lamps and switchable sockets. This is partly due to the fact that the lighting sector is one of the most important in the smart home environment. Products are being developed primarily in the fields of security technology and air conditioning. According to the experts, countless applications are still possible. But at the moment, Matter may not always prove to be an added value for the manufacturer - partly because the process is lengthy and time-consuming. On the other hand, implementation also has clear advantages for the future of the devices, such as ensuring future Matter compatibility and system security. 

These aspects must be weighed up in each individual case in order to make a sustainable decision, according to the tenor. Helbling experts are on hand to provide independent advice. And if a company decides to do so, Helbling will support the development and, with the appropriate infrastructure, also the certification. ce/yvh

Vatorex and the New Zealand beekeeping company Waiau Apiaries have joined forces to combat the Varroa mite without chemicals. The two companies have launched a medium-sized trial with 90 Vatorex bee colonies, Vatorex reported in a press release. The Winterthur-based company has developed an automated technology in which the bee pests are destroyed by heat treatment. On the South Island of New Zealand, 600 of the sensor-equipped heatable honeycombs from Vatorex are being used.

The collaboration with Waiau Apiaries represents Vatorex's first cooperation with a commercial third-party company, according to the press release. Testing the technology in New Zealand also offers Vatorex the opportunity to further improve its own brood detection algorithm. The company also wants to use the trial as preparation for large-scale Canadian trials planned for next April. ce/hs