Led · Equity · Jul 2020

Protenga develops smart insect production farms that convert organic byproducts into high-quality protein and fertilizers using black soldier fly larvae (BSFL). The company plans to launch its insect-based pet food brand, YumGrubs, and to supply insect ingredients to aquaculture, animal feed and pet food industries. Protenga will roll out smart farms in Malaysia and offers co-manufacturing and white-label services for other insect-based pet food companies. Management says the firm aims to become the largest insect company in Southeast Asia and to make insect protein broadly accessible. Operationally, since a nearly $2 million seed round in 2020 the company has launched three facilities and reports producing double-digit tonnage of insect-based ingredients monthly, with further ramp-up in 2021. Protenga has said it is expanding its financing mix to include debt and infrastructure financing to decouple physical expansion from equity-based technology and commercialization investments. Protenga breeds the Black Soldier Fly to produce sustainable protein for livestock, aquaculture and pet feed. Its production process also generates organic material for fertilizer by transforming insect frass into bio-fertilizer in a zero-waste approach. The company is headquartered in Singapore and operates a production facility in Malaysia. Protenga offers a 'Smart Insect Farm' decentralized model that turns agricultural and food waste into useful products. The startup plans to use funding to boost production and pursue genetics research and development to improve insect lines. As part of a collaboration with Roslin Technologies, a bespoke genetic nucleus facility will be built near the Roslin Institute's Edinburgh headquarters to apply enhanced breeding technologies for the global market.