The award-winning startup seeking to regenerate soil for better crops

When he was little, José Otero would listen to his grandfather, who was a farmer, talk about the problems of the countryside and the challenges of soil fertility and reaping a good harvest.

Today, together with his friends and fellow Tec graduates Ilse Álvarez and Mónica Serrano, he is co-founder of Apical, a startup whose aim is to help crops be as productive as possible by cultivating microorganisms in the soil.

The startup is currently at the idea stage, but its potential led them to receiving international recognition when they reached the final of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) in Saudi Arabia in March.

They met while studying at Tec de Monterrey and have been working together on agriculture-related projects for over 6 years, even licensing a technology.

Facing them was the challenge of helping farmers reap better harvests by making use of the land, so they decided to start their own business.

Apical: the path to regenerative agriculture

José said that their startup helps farmers cultivate their own microorganisms, reducing their purchases of biological supplies and agrochemicals.

“The plan is for there to be hundreds of different types of microorganisms that can be produced through a personalized approach, using both fungi and bacteria, which serve to fertilize and protect plants against pathogens or insects,” said Otero.

Ilse pointed out that by implementing this system, farmers could reduce the cost of purchasing biostimulants and fertilizers by up to 6 times.

“They start using less fertilizers and pesticides, because microorganisms help control disease, and having healthy soil greatly curbs crop disease,” said Ilse.

“There are also important savings on logistics. We reduce the use of packaging because they’d be producing the stimulants right there, which also helps reduce all the pollution that can be caused by the large-scale logistics of agrochemicals,” she added.

Designing technology to analyze and regenerate the soil

Through biostimulants, farmers can increase their yields, improve soil water retention, and reduce their use of fertilizers and pesticides. Apical proposes that these be produced on the farmers’ own land.

This can be done through a process they designed that mainly consists of 3 stages, Monica explained.

“First, we carry out a genomic analysis of the soil and a study to understand the needs of the soil and the nutritional needs of the plant. Then, we isolate the microorganisms from that same soil and use them to develop a capsule with specific growth conditions.

“The final step is to install a bioreactor in the field for farmers to use. So, we provide them with the analysis, the capsule, and the machine. It’s all a process of understanding the soil to make the right decisions during crop management,” said Serrano.

With Apical, farmers can regenerate their land through their own irrigation system, even land that isn’t fertile. What’s more, the system would enable the process to be accelerated by continuously applying the biostimulants on a weekly basis, for example.

“It works the same way as coffee capsules, where the bioreactor would be the coffee-making machine. For example, we give them a liter that they can use to make a thousand liters. The bioreactor is connected to the irrigation system they normally manage,” said José.

Apical is currently at the idea stage and its founders are preparing to develop prototypes that help them validate the technology.

“It’s all a process of understanding the soil to make the right decisions during crop management.” - Mónica Serrano

Creating their first project as Tec students

Ilse, Mónica, and José were studying their final year of Biotechnology Engineering at Tec de Monterrey’s Monterrey campus when they decided to develop their first agriculture-related project.

All three of them were returning from abroad: Ilse was coming back from the Netherlands, where she’d studied international business; José from Saudi Arabia, after researching regenerative agriculture; and Mónica from a bootcamp in Silicon Valley as part of an entrepreneurship scholarship after winning the Frisa Award.

“One day, we got together at my house. While we were chatting, we decided to start a business that was aligned with the different goals each of us had.

“For example, I’ve always wanted to help the world, that’s why I studied biotechnology, to acquire tools and make an impact,” said Ilse.

The Tec graduate highlighted that they focused on agriculture because it’s a primary activity that impacts many sectors. For them, it was like attacking a major issue from the root to make an impact on other areas, such as food and water use.

“We invented a biostimulant to increase land productivity and for the soil to contain more life, with good bacteria and fungi in order for plants to be healthier and produce more in a 100% organic and sustainable process,” said José.

They developed the product after a year of research and incubation processes with CAINTRA and the Tec’s business incubator, where Mónica had won a Frisa Award scholarship. Eventually, they managed to license their technology to a company.

Friendship and entrepreneurship on a global scale

In addition to the partnership they’ve forged as entrepreneurs, the graduates highlight the friendship they’ve cultivated since studying for their degrees at the Tec.

“Moni and I met the very first day, in an orientation class, that’s where we became friends. Then, José started coming to Genetics class in the third semester because he’d done a year in Sonora,” Ilse said.

“We’ve been friends for 10 years and worked together for over 6 years. We’ve been able to balance our friendship, the project, and our goals. It’s been a path that has had its challenges, but it has also been very gratifying to walk it together,” said Mónica.

They recently took their entrepreneurial project to a global scale. After qualifying for the Entrepreneur World Cup at INCmty 2022, the three friends traveled to Saudi Arabia, where they competed with 200 startups and won Runner-Up in the Idea Stage category.

“It was a blessing that the three of us could be here; it was a great team achievement,” said Ilse after the competition. “For us, it’s global validation of the idea that we have, and it gives us extra confidence in the project.”

With this victory, the Tec graduates obtained resources and expert contacts that can help them with their goal of validating their technology and seeking to impact global agriculture with Apical.

“The Tec gave us the opportunity to meet and come together, as well as engineering and biotech tools that we’ve used, exchanges, and the Silicon Valley scholarship. It’s also given us many entrepreneurship lessons and connections through the Tec incubator,” concluded Ilse.

“For us, it’s global validation of the idea that we have, and it gives us extra confidence in the project.” - Ilse Álvarez

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