Supporting innovation

Sofiprotéol supports innovation throughout the industry, to develop new activities and find new markets.

Innovation, an industry imperative

In the agri-food sector and elsewhere, innovation drives activity and is the key to long-term growth.

To compete internationally, France’s agribusiness sector must follow an ambitious innovation policy—even during challenging economic times.

The policy requires the presence of strong companies, capable of making the significant investments necessary for this research and development effort. Sofiprotéol supports the industry’s companies in this effort.

Investment funds and companies focused solely on innovation

General investment funds rarely get involved in the agri-food sector, despite its considerable growth prospects. For this reason, Sofiprotéol intervenes via its investment funds to identify and support new activities.

The Agro Invest investment fund and Creagro venture capital company are the Group’s primary means of supporting innovation.

The Group’s 2 principal investment funds, FEDOP and FASO also support this goal by providing companies with the capital necessary for their development. FSRSO, a support fund for oilseed research, promotes seed innovation.

Identifying and supporting the most innovative activities

With Creagro, Sofiprotéol supported the development of Vivalis, a company that produces vaccines using avian stem cells, up until its listing on the stock market.

Creagro also holds shares in Ecovegetal, a company that specializes in grounds re-vegetation.

Genesystems is another example of an innovative company that the Group supports. Genesystems develops solutions for detecting bacterial contamination in agribusinesses.