Indonesia-based animal genomics and biotechnology startup, Moosa Genetics has announced that it had raised funding led by Southeast Asia-focused sector-agnostic venture capital firm, East Ventures
The cattle industry in Indonesia is highly fragmented, with roughly 80% of it being dominated by smallholder farmers who often raise cattle for their savings rather than for the commercial market, thereby significantly impeding the potential of the domestic meat supply. Moreover, given the numerous challenges that cattle breeders face, domestic production can only satisfy about 40% of Indonesian demand for beef, which is why Indonesia is mainly dependent on imported beef.
By leveraging embryo transfer technology and innovative gene selection techniques like CRISPR, Moosa Genetics improves meat yield and quality while at the same time, also reducing the costs. One of the primary objectives of the company is to elevate 'Sapi Merah Putih,' a local breed of cattle which stands as a symbol of excellence in the Indonesian cattle and beef sector. Enhancing this breed to superior standards ultimately enhances economic opportunities and meat quality.
The company also recognises the complexity of breeding and is aware that a plethora of traits besides a single matrix of genetic improvement would need to be acknowledged in order to determine the ideal version of local cattle in Indonesia. Dr. Ivan R Sini, PhD, chairman and co-founder of Moosa Genetics, and chairman of the Indonesian Genomics Association, emphasised the importance of collaboration between industry stakeholders, the platform provider and dedicated researchers to comprehensively assess and measure the magnitude of improvement over the current cattle breeding standards.
Avina Sugiarto, partner at East Ventures expressed her excitement about the collaboration and believes that Moosa Genetics' biotechnology-enabled innovation has the potential to revolutionaise the livestock industry in Indonesia by addressing critical challenges and demands in agriculture while ensuring sustainable food production and improving domestic security. "With big opportunity presents in Indonesia, we believe Moosa Genetics is driving the positive change and growth in this space."
For more information, visit: https://moosagenetics.com/ and https://east.vc/
