Agroz Group Sdn Bhd (“Agroz”) and AVF Ventures Sdn Bhd, through its investee company, Agroz Vertical Farms Sdn Bhd (“AVF”), has launched an equity crowdfunding (“ECF”) campaign through pitchIN, Malaysia’s leading equity crowdfunding platform and a Registered Market Operator (RMO) with the Securities Commission of Malaysia. Through this ECF campaign, AVF aims to raise a maximum of RM6.5 million to build a new Controlled Environment Agriculture (“CEA”) indoor vertical farm in Selangor in an effort to boost supply capacity to meet unmet demands of leafy greens and herbs in the Klang Valley.
The new farm will be built in a plant factory with an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 sqft growing area to maximise space and yields and produce higher leafy greens and herbs yields. This new CEA farm will be Malaysia’s first industrial scale designed CEA indoor vertical farm that will bolster Malaysia’s effort for food security.
This ECF funding round on pitchIN offers Redeemable Convertible Preference Shares (“RCPS”) with an 8% coupon rate per annum. With a minimum investment of RM 1,850 per lot, investors will also get to enjoy free and fresh vegetables delivered to their doorstep, once every 2 weeks.
“AVF and Agroz are collaborating to focus on designing, innovating, developing, building and operating large commercial scale, industrial grade indoor vertical farms using CEA practices to improve food safety, food security and sustainability. Through its CEA model, we are paving the way for modern precision agriculture in Malaysia”, said the founder, Gerard Lim.
Vertical farming is transforming agriculture with the use of new technologies to grow more food in less space without pesticides, as well as protecting crops from various weather conditions. It contributes to better ways for Malaysia to achieve food safety, food security and sustainability.
AVF and Agroz AgTech will help improve food safety by eliminating the use of pesticides and herbicides while reducing the need for storage and refrigeration. It will improve food security by reducing Malaysia’s multibillion-dollar food import bill as well as growing food locally, nearer to where it is consumed, which reduces transportation thus lowering the food miles generated and its carbon emissions impact.
AVF and Agroz AgTech contributes to sustainability by reducing or preventing waste and conserving resources through the use of solar and renewable energy, in combination with a myriad of digital technologies including Internet-of-Things (IoT), data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, automation, robotics, cloud, edge computing, blockchain and 5G communications.
The vegetables grown in Agroz’s CEA vertical farms range from salad leaves such as lettuces, kale, arugula, wild rocket, to local varieties such as nai pak and siew pak choy.
For interested investors looking to participate in the funding round, our campaign page is at https://www.pitchin.my/equity/agroz-vertical-farms-sdn-bhd.
