"We hope this creates momentum within the industry. Project-level financing that includes both public and private stakeholders helps rally the community around this type of capital intensive infrastructure. Everyone cares about fresh local food and regional food security, and we believe this approach provides a path to realizing local, state, and national priorities by aligning them with private investment," says Nona Yehia, Co-founder of Vertical Harvest after the news broke about their $59.9 million project financing for their Westbrook farm.
The project financing will be spent on the development and operation of the company's 51,000-square-foot (4740m2) hybrid facility in downtown Westbrook, Maine. Through two pioneer programs from the USDA and other community facilities, Vertical Harvest and its partners were able to creatively structure this challenging project.
Responding to whether we can expect new projects any time soon for Vertical Harvest, Nona gives away that they will be starting on Detroit, in collaboration with their partners at Bedrock. "Hopefully we'll have at least two more cities to announce this year, as well. Onward and upward (literally).
One of the investors, Gingee Prince and Nona Yehia at the Indoor Ag-Con
On top of positive news about project financing for the construction of a vertical farm, 'neighboring company' Growcer, a supplier of container farms, announced a bagging of $3 million for its first funding series. The injection will be used to accelerate its growth nationally and across the globe.
"We've taken our time to grow the business, bootstrapping for six years before raising any outside capital because we were focused on sustainable growth and providing our growing technology for the long term. This approach allowed us to make mistakes early on, get the fundamentals right, and scale sustainably. To secure $3M in our Series A is a true testament that Growcer is ready to launch exponentially after almost a decade of steady growth," says Corey Ellis, CEO, and co-founder of Growcer.
Corey Ellis
Expanding footprint in Canada, and beyond
With a dozen farms on the way, the Growcer are nearly at 100 farms across Canada with several international projects in the works. According to Corey, this funding is coming at a great time to continue the company's growth, "but do it in a more streamlined way and expand the support and services we currently offer growers."
Your advice to starting growers
As some of us are still figuring out whether vertical farming is a go, or no go to step into, we've asked Cory what he would recommend to aspiring growers. "Given the industry is still young compared to other industries, I would recommend you compare vendors and, most importantly, reach out to other growers doing what you want to be doing."
According to him, the key vendors are long term relationships, and it's important to get them right. That's one of the reasons why Growcer is emphasizing on its services and support offering. "We've seen what the most common friction points are for growers after launching 80 farms. Therefore, we spend a lot of time focused on streamlining your journey into vertical farming with proven strategies."
For more information:
Vertical Harvest
Tel.: +1 307 201 4452
[email protected]
https://verticalharvestfarms.com
The Growcer
[email protected]
www.thegrowcer.ca