More than 500 applications in four years endorse the success of the Cajamar accelerator for agri -food startups. Its director, Ricardo García Lorenzo, defends the “huge innovative talent” in our country: “Spain can become a reference in export of agri -food technology,” he says.
García Lorenzo treasures a long career in the banking sector and since 2021 pilots the last bet of Cajamar, which this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of its Las Palmerillas Experimental Station (El Ejido, Almería), for agri -food innovation. A “enormously gratifying” work for this “grandson and son -in -law of farmers.”
Cajamar has expanded this year its support for the ‘startups’ specialized in food technology. Is the circle closed?
I think so. The first call was made four years ago for technological projects oriented to efficient water use, pioneer in this specialization in Spain, in 2023 we launched that of agricultural production technologies and this year we have decided to continue expanding to Foodtech because we firmly believe that innovation will be critical in the coming years. We have opened it to food to try to capture that innovative talent with everything that comes in alternative proteins, artificial intelligence or, the issue of cybersecurity in food traceability, which will be a revolution.
What balance does the previous calls?
We have received more than 500 applications and that denotes, not only the appetite that is both in the research and business field, but also from investors for this type of technological base companies. They are very respectable figures and more with the added fact that almost a third are projects that have come from outside our borders, they are international projects and that we consider that it is a pride for everyone. We have incubated 73 companies, as important is the first as the last regarding the degree of viability and success because we must also talk about failures. What we value is that more than 210 jobs have been created, that is the wealth that we see that these startups generate.
And what is the added value that Cajamar Innova provides?
What differentiates Cajamar is that we have two experimental centers, the palmerillas, from which 50 years are turned this year, and Paiporta (Valencia), two research centers that are national reference in knowledge transfer and agronomic technology. And what we have done in these last four years with the launch of the different calls of Cajamar Innova has been to replicate what we have been doing for 50 years from the entity, to promote the enormous innovative talent that is at the agri -food level. In Cajamar Innova we not only help mentorize and model the business plans of these companies, but also contribute the differential value that all its technology can be tested in the field, in real time. The entrepreneurs what they want is that the validation of that technology helps them to collection of business within the agri -food industry and also to obtain capital in these financing rounds. And we, because of the experience we have we see that there is that investment appetite due to technologies that provide real solutions to the agri -food industry. That is an unquestionable reality.
Investment in agrifood technology companies reach global level, at 2025 the 16,000 million dollars. Is Cajamar innova a platform to attract that investment?
We are very prudent with these figures because the agri -food is a sector that has its investment cycle and works with very narrow margins. For us the important thing is that there is that innovative spirit. And we are seeing it in all these calls with the requests we have received. And technological talent is calling the attention of all those great funds that have put the agri -food sector on the agenda.
Spain is a leader in agri -food production, can it also be at the technological level?
I am convinced. We will continue to produce and export food, but we will also start exporting technology. With the technological development we already have and the one that will continue in the coming years, Spain can be a reference in the export of technology in agri -food matters and in the adaptation of the agri -food sector to the challenges of climate change and the need to gain efficiency in the use of natural resources.
From your experience in these years, what are the main needs that have detected in the ‘startups’?
The need of both the companies that are in that seed phase and those that are already in that scaling phase, some already internationalized, in addition to that business plan, is that they feel surrounded. Creating a technology -based company is very complicated and those entrepreneurs, regardless of their age or the life cycle of your company, what they need is that advice to feel supported and heard. In Spain there are dozens of accelerators, but what they are looking for is that degree of specialization and we are very focused on what is agri -food industry. We speak the language of that entrepreneur that has a viable technological solution for the agri -food industry and listen to it. It is a proven model of success and this is being transferred to us.
Cajamar specialists have participated in the ICEX report on ‘Agrotech’ and Andalusia companies was the one that had the greatest number. Can a relationship be established with the origins of Cajamar in this community and its impulse to innovation?
The agri -food, and I say it as grandson and son -in -law of farmers, it is a sector that has been unattractive, little cool. When we were in charge of that report we thought it could add to that great problem we face, the generational relief, and make the sector attractive with the technological disruption that comes. It has been complicated to do because we started from very scattered bases, but it is the first step and other reports will come. Of the 848 Startup of Technology Base that we have, Andalusia is a reference in that expertise in agri -food technology with many success cases.
On a personal level, I suppose there will also have been beautiful moments …
It is enormously gratifying. Talking with these young people or not so young, because there are people who come with an important professional background, are incredible for what they teach and contribute to where this digital world is going, which is tremendously exciting. You learn a lot and thank you. We intend that thanks to what these entrepreneurs develop, our customers in the agri -food sector are technologically pointers because the improvement of the efficiency of all their processes will help them to be more profitable.
What levers or what benefits and what obstacles are in our country and in Europe?
The calls we have taken have been with the foundation of Chambers of Commerce of Spain (INCYDE), which has shown us that public-private collaboration both at the regional, national or European level, works. If there is a but, the only one is sometimes the bureaucratic tangle, although the perfect is the enemy of the good. Now it is to innovate or die, but either we do it collaboratively or it will be very complicated.
Cajamar Innova’s proposal could be said that it is unique in Spain and in Europe
In Spain there are many accelerators that are gradually focusing on the agri -food field and that are doing very well. Our entity, Cajamar, is an expert in the agri -food sector since its origins, is part of our DNA and, possibly, as the proposal of Cajamar Innova, so specialized and with the focus so agriferous, it is difficult to find some. What I would like to highlight is that interesting things are being done here in Spain and Europe, and that we are in a critical sector because in the end, whatever happens, we have to eat.
#Ricardo #García #Lorenzo #Cajamar #Innova #Spain #reference #export #agri #food #technology
