BiocSol, a Belgian startup specialising in sustainable crop protection solutions, has snapped €4.4 million in its latest funding round. This round includes an equity investment from Dutch impact investment fund Pymwymic and non-dilutive financing from the Walloon Region via the Win4company program.
This financing follows the €5.2 million in equity funding secured in late 2024 led by Agri Investment Fund and VIVES Partners.
The latest funding from the Walloon Region in particular will support the future development of BiocSol’s R&D platform. It will also help the startup demonstrate proof of concept worldwide for its first two biofungicide products.
What challenge does it tackle?
Reportedly, fungal and oomycete pathogens destroy 20–40% of annual crop yields worldwide, threatening food security. By providing farmers with reliable, cost-effective biopesticides, BiocSol seeks to mitigate these losses and support the transition to sustainable agriculture.
Sustainable crop production
Led by founder Simon Caulier and CEO Denis Payen, BiocSol, a UCLouvain spin-off founded in 2023. Its technology is built on over a decade of research at UCLouvain’s Earth & Life Institute.
It develops new microbial-based biopesticides with increased stability and efficiency that empower farmers to protect their crops sustainably. Its approach leverages specific microbial substances to deliver reliable, affordable solutions for key agricultural challenges like mildew, which affects row crops such as potatoes, including crops such as other vegetables and grapes.
“With this new financing, we are on target with our €10M goal, the amount we need to really fast-track our development work. It also demonstrates, once again, that our commitment to providing farmers worldwide with access to sustainable and more effective biosolutions is the right one,” said Denis Payen, CEO of BiocSol. “We are thrilled to welcome Pymwymic as an investor in BiocSol. Its support will accelerate our growth and empower us to integrate impact into our everyday lives, ensuring that our path remains relevant and transformative. Thanks to our new chairman of the board, Pierre Ferrand, and our dedicated team, we now have everything in place to write the next chapter in the BiocSol story.”
“We wish to thank the Walloon Region for supporting our start-up from the very beginning. Likewise, we are grateful to the Laboratory of Plant Pathology (SAVE), led by Anne Legrève and Claude Bragard, and the Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology (MIAE), headed up by Jacques Mahillon and Annika Gillis at UCLouvain; all have been instrumental in the creation and successful growth of BiocSol,” said Simon Caulier, CTO and founder of BiocSol.
“Given BiocSol’s strong biosolution pipeline and ability to develop microbial substances for a wide range of different crops, we believe that it has real potential to make a positive impact on the agricultural sector by providing farmers with alternative crop protection solutions at an affordable price,” said Pieter Vis, partner at Pymwymic. “We are proud to be part of a project with such great potential, well-respected co-investors and partners, and, of course, an expert team led by Denis Payen and Simon Caulier.”
