RAID THE FRIDGE: A World of Plenty
Innovation and Technology for Food Security
This month’s Raid The Fridge session will help you understand AgriTech in the context of supply and distribution, alternative proteins, and what makes an attractive investment proposition, i.e., "investable startups" in this space today.
The Situation
Feeding the burgeoning global population is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge that necessitates a substantial overhaul of resources. According to the World Resource Institute, this would entail producing 56 percent more food annually, requiring an area of land for agriculture twice the size of India, and emitting 15 Gt more greenhouse gas emissions yearly.
In the Philippines, ensuring enough food for everyone is a big challenge. There are huge gaps between the country’s production and consumption patterns. These have put the food industry’s uncertain unit economics at stake and highlighted its environmental effects, casting a bleak picture of the country’s food security.
Join The Conversation
However, there is hope. So, join us for a candid conversation with our Raid The Fridge speaker, Mike Maté, VP of Investments at Kickstart Ventures.
Mike will navigate you through the interplay of food security and climate change and explain how our recent VC investments in Roslin Tech and SariSuki address challenges in bringing food to our tables.
Program Flow
5:00 PM — Doors opened to registered guests. Networking over beers (raided from the Kickstart fridge) and food begins.
7:20 PM — Guests are asked to be seated in preparation for the short program.
7:30 PM — Start of the "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session by our featured speaker
8:30 PM — End of the AMA session. Networking resumes.
10: 00 PM — End of Raid The Fridge
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About The Speaker
Mike Maté is a Vice President of Investments at Kickstart Ventures, a corporate venture capital firm wholly owned by Globe Telecom, the Philippines’ leading telco. In this role, he has led significant investments, including a multimillion-dollar investment into Roslin Technologies, Kickstart's first investment in the FoodTech and BioTech sectors, and the first investment in the UK. Mike was also the lead investor in SariSuki's $12.7M Series A round, a Philippine AgriTech company. He sits on the boards of both Roslin Technologies and SariSuki as an observer. One of his focuses at Kickstart Ventures is driving investments in the FoodTech and AgriTech industries.
Before joining Kickstart, Mike worked as a Director at Seawood Resources. At this multi-billion peso investment firm, he formulated investment strategies and oversaw the firm's portfolio companies in the food sector. He also served as a director on the board of Akaroa Salmon, a premium King Salmon producer in New Zealand.
Before his roles in the investment industry, Mike gained valuable experience in finance and law. He was the Head of Structured Finance and Debt Products at BPI Capital, the Bank of the Philippine Islands investment banking group. He also worked as a Senior Associate at Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles, a prominent law firm in the Philippines.
Additionally, Mike was a Visiting International Attorney in the M&A Group at Morrison Foerster, an international law firm with offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Mike holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Harvard Law School, where he was the LL.M. Class Representative. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History from Duke University and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Ateneo de Manila University.
About Kickstart Ventures
Kickstart Ventures manages the Philippines’ largest technology venture capital funds, investing globally in early- and early-stage tech startups via three funds, including the Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture Fund (“ACTIVE Fund”). Kickstart, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest and most active corporate venture capital (CVC) firms, is the wholly-owned corporate venture capital firm of Globe Telecom, the Philippines’ leading mobile operator.
Kickstart owns and organizes Raid The Fridge, the longest-running monthly startup mixer for the Philippine startup community of founders, investors, and entrepreneur-enabling organizations since August 2012.