In Ovo: eggsperts with a mission in the poultry industry
- Sustainability
Some 6.5 billion chicks in the poultry industry are killed every year – the males, that is, as they don’t lay eggs. The company In Ovo has developed a machine that can identify the sex of chicks before the egg hatches. It is their mission to make this technology available across the globe to put an end to the slaughter of chickens. We’re so enthusiastic about this sustainable invention that we are co-financing the company’s international growth plans.
In Ovo founders Wouter Bruins and Wil Stutterheim see the problem of these day-old chicks as a business case. Their mission is to put an end to the mass killing of newly hatched male chicks. They developed a screening machine called Ella with which poultry farmers can ensure that only the eggs of female chicks are hatched.
Wouter Bruins, director and co-founder of In Ovo on their growth plans:
“We’re often enamoured of the technology we use, but we mustn’t forget that technology is only a means to an end. If poultry farmers start using this technology they will earn more money, so why would you continue to kill male chicks?”
Financing for the future
“Our company is quite complex. ABN AMRO immediately brought in a team with whom we had pleasant contact,” says Bruins.
Several ABN AMRO departments assessed In Ovo’s current and future financing needs. The main challenge was the company’s variable cashflow because their customers pay per scanned egg, this revenue model is also known as Product-as-a-Service (PaaS).
After several good conversations. the machines could be financed 1-on-1 through a pawn lease: a loan based on a pledge on the machine. In total, In Ovo has raised 34 million euros in investment to accelerate the international growth plans.
Better for the animals, the environment and farmers
This technology is a huge step forward when it comes to animal welfare and the environment. Killing day-old male chicks is an ethical issue and is even illegal in many countries. What’s more, cocks emit more carbon than hens because they need more food to grow. Ella can prevent five million cocks a year from being unnecessarily hatched, cutting carbon emissions by 40,000 tonnes. In short, Ella accelerates the transition to more sustainable business operations in the poultry industry. This tallies nicely with our sustainability ambitions and benefits our clients as well as society at large.
“You could call us the eggsperts of the poultry industry,” Wouter Bruins grinned.