Malaysia’s Segi Fresh invests in early-stage agrifood tech VC Mandalay Venture Partners

In an effort to integrate innovative Australian agritech into fresh food supply chains, Malaysian fresh food company Segi Fresh is investing in early-stage agrifood tech venture capital firm Mandalay Venture Partners, located in Australia.

As part of a limited strategic partnership, Segi Fresh will invest in Mandalay’s Fund I and integrate Mandalay-backed agritech innovations throughout its fresh food supply chain to increase productivity, boost sustainability, and improve food quality for consumers throughout the ASEAN region, according to a statement released by Mandalay Venture Partners on Thursday.

Tan Hon Yik, director of Segi Fresh, stated that the investment shows the company’s understanding of how important technology is to changing the food sector.

With over 100 locations throughout Malaysia and plans to open more than 200 by 2025, he pointed out that Segi Fresh collaborates with growers and retailers at every stage of the fresh produce supply chain.

“Identifying and embedding leading technology solutions has the ability to create higher yield for our supply chain, provide efficiencies for our own operations while scouting for the latest tech globally,

“The Mandalay team has a track record of excellence with a deep knowledge of the ASEAN region. We are excited to work with the team across this fund and with the startups
invested in,” he added.

According to Mark Gustowski, managing partner at Mandalay Venture Partners, the deal demonstrates a common dedication to incorporating technology into fresh food supply chains in order to cut waste, improve logistics, and boost sustainability.

“We couldn’t be more delighted to have the support of the Segi Fresh group,

“Not only does the group bring more than 30 years of detailed expertise in fresh food retail and supply chain logistics, they also provide an onramp for companies in the Mandalay portfolio to seamlessly build markets across Malaysia and the ASEAN region,” he added.

The collaboration is in line with the robust food trade relationship between Australia and Malaysia, which in 2022 will see bilateral food imports and exports of over AUD 3.4 billion ($2.16 billion).

According to Mark Gustowski, the investment promotes innovation-led cooperation between the two countries in addition to fortifying economic ties.

“With our mission to sustainably feed the world’s growing population, we couldn’t think of a better partner than Segi Fresh to fulfil our mission,”he said.

In the major agrifood tech sectors of supply chain logistics, livestock and veterinary, food processing, future foods, greenhouse technology, and artificial intelligence, Mandalay Venture Partners has now closed eight investments.

TomKat Kool Paks, a startup based in Queensland that creates thermal containers with Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities for cold chain transportation, is one of the businesses that could profit right away from this partnership, the statement said.