The German government accelerator inaugurates today in Buenos Aires its office and hub for South America. The profile of the startups accompanying the arrival and the market they want to access with AgTech but also AI.
Buenos Aires (AT) – In an exclusive interview with Argentinisches Tageblatt, Matthias Notz, Managing Director of Germand Accelerator (GA), was precise: “Latin America is a market full of opportunities, but with – as yet – few international competitors. It is literally an emerging market. It is the best time for a German or European startup to land”.
The seven startups that accompany the landing of the German government’s accelerator in Argentina and South America confirm this. Based in the vast majority of cases on Artificial Intelligence (AI), their core business ranges from the AgTech sector, Fintech to Human Resources and -also- the digitization of cemeteries. What they do and what they look for.
- EKU Power Drives: Started in 2015, Edward Eichstetter, Manuel Klein and Leonardo Uriona specializes in electrification and automation. Initially created as a project to build electric vehicles, EKU today focuses on the automation of industrial processes, at the level of individual units and fleets, integrating data with power systems and the electrification of mobile, network and industrial machinery. According to its founders, EKU Power Drives’ start-stop systems promise to save up to 2 tons of CO2 per machine per day through an automated start-stop mechanism. The company started with a share capital of EUR 100,000 and now wants to expand its presence in the energy, mining and shipping sectors, say EKU Power Drives.
- PBSGEO: Founded in 2011, the startup initiated the digital transformation in a field that, at first glance, could be alien to anything virtual, or not. Headquartered in the city of Cologne in western Germany, PBSGEO is today one of the leading developers of technology and market solutions for the digitization of cemeteries. The services of the company headed by Christoph Schumacher today include the management of green areas and public trees as well as the redesign of everything to do with cemetery management. The software company, considered a leader in its field in German-speaking countries, has also developed interactive experiences based on Artificial Intelligence. The company’s more than 100 customers include the city of Frankfurt am Main, Recklinghausen, Erfurt and Schwerin. In Montabaur in Rhineland-Palatinate, “PBS Geo” has launched a special project: a school group researched the biographies of the fallen soldiers buried in the “Grove of Honor” and the results were incorporated into the municipality’s online cemetery map.
- Globemee: Founded in 2022 by Sandra Franziska Schmitt and Christian Schieber Globemee connects professionals and companies through an international talent platform supported by artificial intelligence. With its global recruiting solution it thus seeks to meet one of the greatest needs of the German economy today: the demand for skilled workers. Its platform works on AI-matching algorithms, automating the visa process and providing, among other things, local support to the recruited talent. The founders transformed the idea of connecting workers with their education at the University of Bamberg, where they majored in Computer Science and International Business Administration. The idea was nurtured, among other things, by the experience they gained in Argentina and Colombia during their university studies. It should be remembered that the shortage of qualified professionals in Germany today is reaching worrying levels. According to the Competence Center for Professional Security (Kofa) of the Institute of the German Economy (IW), more than 630,000 jobs for professionals could not be filled last year. Especially, in areas such as IT, electronic engineering and construction planning and supervision. This represents the largest gap since 2010.
- Muffintech: The company aims to be ChatGPT for the insurance industry. Founded in 2020 by Felix Koepp, Elli Wolf, Simon Moser and Tomas Gan, the Berlin-based company proposes to insurance companies to create sales and customer service channels and overcome the problem of lack of skilled employees by creating a conversational commerce solution compatible with Artificial Intelligence technology. Originally spun out of a Code University project, it had a seed capital of EUR 25,000.
- Temu: The company offers professional agricultural systems. Created in 2022, its software is an online control system. It is designed to address the digitization needs of the food production industry, focusing specifically on automation and data collection in various sectors. Its digital platform – OnCon – is specifically aimed at streamlining and optimizing farm production processes. It integrates all aspects of the production facility into a centralized system in the cloud, to work from there on Artificial Intelligence (AI) analytics. Headquartered in the city of Stadtlohn, Germany, Temu is led by Marcio Afonso Schmidt and Alexander Taubert.
- Drop Money: For those who dream of studying in Germany, one of the main obstacles is to have a visa. To achieve this, a blocked account or “Sperrkonto” is needed. This is a specialized bank account that is blocked for a specific period of time. Its function is to ensure that students have the necessary financial resources to support themselves during their stay in the country. Students make a deposit into the account at the beginning of their stay in Germany. The account limits the amount that can be withdrawn per month. Currently it is EUR 934. Founded in March 2023, DropMoney Blue, Berlin-based startup comes to streamline the process. The startup founded by Avijit Sarkar and Anilkumar Jalajakumari Shon with EUR 25,000 offers students to fulfill the requirements of proving financial solvency with the German consulate but in digital format. The solution offers a 30-day travel insurance policy and includes a current account free of charge.
- OMNIZON Networks: Founded in 2009, and led today by Franz A. Wimmer
- Tatjana Pinhak and Nino Strajher, the company provides a cloud-native, on-demand, horizontally scalable B2B/EDI integration platform as a service that automates and accelerates document/B2B exchange. Omnizon aims to “help its customers integrate electronically with their own ecosystem of customers, suppliers and partners, eliminating the complexities of digitization, minimizing paper flows, maximizing efficiency, reducing costs and securing data transfer,” the company says in its blog post.
- BIOROXX: It is a company that develops chemicals. The company created in 2019 managed to develop among others, the first fully sustainable rodenticide in the world. The product It is degradable and non-toxic. Led by Astrid and Dietrich Gulba, the company provides to develop in the future poisons against mice and other rodents, equally sustainable, biodegradable and non-toxic to humans. The reason: “Rats and other rodents destroy up to 25 % of crops and food and feed stocks every year. Rats in particular take up residence on farms and destroy up to one ton of feed per farm per year. Fattening animals are at greatest risk, as they can transmit swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza, for example. Producers have great problems keeping rodents out of the barns. Rats spread these diseases from one production facility to another,” the company says. In Latin American countries, the challenge is particularly great, considering the importance of agriculture for their economies and society.
Source: Argentinisches Tagesblatt, Martes, 14.11.2023
Click here for the original article: Argentinisches Tagesblatt
