St. Louis has a strong history of innovation in the biosciences and agtech industries, and now those local sectors want to make stronger connections abroad.
Cultivar STL, an initiative launched this month, aims to do that in Latin America.
“Both of our regions stand to gain a lot from learning from each other,” said Stephanie Regagnon, executive director of innovation partnerships at the Danforth Plant Science Center. “While we have built some amazing things in St. Louis and we have a lot to offer, we also still have a lot to learn.”
The initiative aims to help Latin American startups in agtech or geospatial land in St. Louis and also help similar companies in St. Louis more easily expand to those international markets, she said. It also has the goal of helping with global challenges like food security and climate change, Regagnon added.
The St. Louis region is well situated, located within 500 miles of more than half of the agricultural production in the U.S..
“Partnering with other agriculture regions that are already good at production but may not have all the tools they need can help accelerate innovation and therefore food security,” she said.
It’s led by a collection of organizations including the Danforth Center, BioSTL, the Yield Lab LATAM, the World Trade Center St. Louis, Greater St. Louis Inc. and 39 North Agtech Innovation District. (READ MORE)