The Llao Llao Forum, which brings together high-impact businessmen and entrepreneurs in a Bariloche with a postcard landscape, allocates a lot of time, money and energy to the program that this year’s edition focuses on. in global uncertainty. There is, however, a very special panel and it is the one dedicated to start-ups.
Those chosen were three cases with a high connection with the Argentine scientific system of public universities and Conicet and it was striking because there is a belief from the Casa Rosada of the inefficiency and adjustment of budgets to those areas. Precisely, Javier Milei arrives tonight at Llao Llao along with his sister Karina and spokesperson Manuel Adorni.
The Forum, which was born in 2011, was promoted by the Endeavor Foundation, key in the development of the entrepreneurial eco-system that according to Julia Bearzi, its CEO, is in biotechnology the most powerful of the 40 countries where Endeavor, with a US birth certificate, has its headquarters.
The panel showed how innovation and technology are transforming vital sectors such as health, environment and agriculture. There were three startups that have been dealing since fighting cancer to water management and crop pollination. And they were possible due to the coordination with the Conicet scientists in what can be considered a Fascinating symbiosis between the public and private sectors.
One case is that of Tarek Ali Zake, son of Egyptians, born and educated in Argentina, who with scientists from the National University of Córdoba created OncoPrecision, which with artificial intelligence can test the progress of cancer treatments in thousands of cases. “Treatments are sought personalized for cancer, relying on technology to improve the precision and effectiveness of oncological therapiesZake noted.
This is precision medicine as it develops what it calls “microscopic patient avatars” which are miniaturized biological samples that mimic the tumor microenvironment. Together with the scientist Gastón Soria they went to New York to raise funds. And collaboration with the American pharmaceutical industry was made easier for them and allows them to carry out research.
Another was that of Jairo Trad from Kilimo, also linked to scientists, who developed a system similar to that of green bonds to help save water. Kilimo supports producers towards smarter and more sustainable irrigation practices and city dwellers towards responsible management. Global giants such as Coca Cola, Intel or Googlewho are their clients, receive these bonuses for their operations.
Matias Viel from Beeflow was enthusiastic when he told them how he expanded bee pollination management throughout the world. “84% of crops depend on pollination by insects for their fruiting and seed production.. We offer advanced pollination services to improve agricultural productivity in the face of increasing food demand,” she said.
Beeflow acts as a consultancy that manages pollination, from the installation of hives to the optimization of the health and behavior of the bees, especially in low temperatures, “which significantly increases fruit yields,” he said, highlighting that it was possible by collaboration with Argentine scientists. The first technology they adopted was to strengthen the bee immune system through a special diet, allowing them to pollinate better in low temperature conditions and the second, developed in collaboration with Walter Farina, from Conicet, trains the bees so that they feel more attracted to specific crops.
“Their innovative approaches show us that with the right combination of science, technology and vision, we can address some of the most pressing challenges of our time,” Bearzi said.
The three start-ups have a common denominator: They were helped by the GRIDX fund, the main one in the region that unites research scientists with business-trained entrepreneurs. The president of the fund is Miguel Galuccio, owner of the Vista oil company. And one of his main managers, Graciela Ciccio from Insud, the holding company of the Sigman family. But they were not the only ones. Among others, the fund of the state of New York and that of the founders of Amazon flicker.
