Moroccan VC firm backs South African animal-free dairy company

Morocco-based UM6P Ventures has completed an investment in De Novo Dairy, a South African company that produces animal-free dairy products that provide the same sensory experience and nutrition as their traditional dairy counterparts.

De Novo Dairy specialises in the production of milk proteins using precision fermentation of yeast strains. This allows its to extract essential cruelty-free milk proteins that are typically very scarce and difficult to obtain. The proteins developed by De Novo Dairy can be used within a wide range of products to improve and boost human nutrition. The start-up is also targeting a wide range of industries including food, health, sports nutrition, and baby formula.

”Dairy alternatives have gained global traction over the last few years due to the health-related and environmental benefits they present. We are pleased to add De Novo Dairy to our growing portfolio of deeptech startups, work with their talented management team and support them while improving the African food system,” said Ikram Labtaini, scientific development and operations lead at UM6P Ventures.

As part of the venture builder support system provided by UM6P Ventures, De Novo Dairy will benefit from both capital funding and scientific support. It will be connected to a large network of investors including VC funds, acceleration partners, biotech corporations, and agtech scale-up entities throughout Morocco and worldwide.

”We are really excited to have the support of UM6P Ventures in this investment round. They share our vision and mission to improve human nutrition while removing animals from the food chain,” said Jean Louwrens, CEO and co-founder, De Novo Dairy, and added, ”We are also thrilled to benefit from all of the support provided to help us accelerate both R&D and scale-up efforts and look forward to achieving future milestones together.”