Are you a proven entrepreneur looking to launch your next startup? Does your heart beat for agriculture, its farmers and the soil? Then we want to hear from you.
We're looking for a startup duo ready to transform LatAm's agriculture with affordable, smart assets and tools that boost yield, cut waste or enhance the produce, hence building their climate resilience.
Apply to build something new with Fundamental and get initial funding & support.
Pitch usOur venture studio doesn't just invest in startups. We build them from scratch with duos of entrepreneurs. Every year, we take one idea and co-found a company solving urgent problems, from scratch.
Some problems are worth building for.
Mexico has more than 5 million smallholder farmers working less than 5 hectares each. They work from sunrise to sunset, and still live in poverty, not for lack of effort, but because of low and unstable income. Climate change is driving more droughts, frosts, and unpredictable seasons, and a single bad one can wipe out a harvest. With it goes a family's livelihood, and a piece of the country's food supply.
Proven, tangible technology exists to change this: irrigation, greenhouses, cold storage, machinery. They work. But they weren't built for smallholder farmers: they are not cheap enough, not simple enough, not accessible enough for someone farming 5 hectares with no financial cushion.
That's the opportunity. This year, we want to build a company that closes that gap and creates a new future for smallholder farming in Mexico.
Access to productive assets is the piece of the puzzle nobody has solved well yet in Latin America. Financing, regenerative practices, market access, all matter. But even where those exist, most smallholder farmers still can't get their hands on the tools that would change their outcomes.
An efficient irrigation system, a greenhouse, a reliable cold chain: these proven technologies boost yields, stabilize income, and reduce waste, but are designed for larger farms, not for those working a few hectares alone. We want to democratize access to them for thousands of smallholder farmers.
We've done the homework. We know where the opportunities are, and we are open on how to get there. The innovation we're looking for spans two dimensions: the asset (affordable, adapted to smallholder scale) and the way it reaches the farmer. Now we're looking for proven entrepreneurs with bold ideas to build our next venture in Mexico. Here's where we see the biggest opportunities:
01
Increase yield and productivity
Multiply per-hectare output through access to smart assets.
02
Reduce post-harvest waste
Preserve vulnerable harvests through cold chain, processing, and infrastructure.
03
Generate added value
Move from raw product to product with margin, through processing, transformation, and better market access.
Combined with AI, IoT, and a smart go-to-market strategy, these solutions bring real market potential and a vision to scale, while driving higher income and climate resilience for smallholder farmers. That means less vulnerability to shocks like drought, out-of-season rain, cold, and heat, less pressure on resources like water, soil, energy, and inputs, and a shift toward regenerative practices that leave the land better than they found it.
Two build better and faster than one. We're looking for two complementary profiles with the following characteristics.
If you're a tested entrepreneur without a technical partner yet, or vice versa, apply anyway. We'll pair you.
