This blog post features Maria Fernanda Santos (CHEM ’21) and Timo Lukas Behrend (IBA & IRPH ’21). These two 3rd year students from Honduras and Chile are pursuing Start-Up Track this semester - a program at Jacobs that helps students in their 5th semester of study develop their entrepreneurial idea and skills.
Maria Fernanda Santos and Timo Lukas Behrend are third year students enrolled in the new J-CUB Start-Up Track program at Jacobs University. The program offers students a platform to develop their business ideas and operates within the wider network of BRIDGE, an organization that acquires links with companies and investors established in the region to create synergies within the real-life business world. Maria and Timo made the strategic decision to work together on a project that could provide sustainable development and economic prosperity to Central America’s most marginalized areas. This collective work is resulted in their start-up: Fair Agro.
Fair Agro is more than just a company. Its mission is to create a multinational fruit processing company with the aim of generating opportunities and connecting markets by opening new doors to potential trade links. By providing local farmers with a safe and guaranteed sale and fostering community values, Timo and Maria are pushing to work towards increasing producer confidence and strengthening the competitiveness of these marginalized regions of Honduras and Central America.
The idea to establish Fair Agro surged from the high yields of waste produced annually by the food production industry, a recurrent problem due to outdated agricultural practices within the region. This waste causes environmental hazards that in turn impacts the quality of agricultural produce. The waste transformation of Fair Agro products would take place by waste recycling, treatment and transformation into by-products – with the extraction of active ingredients from the respective bio waste.
Timo and Maria are ground breakers in every respect. Together, they have pitched their idea to governmental organizations, development banks, and individual investors. They are currently working with independent agricultural partners whom make up an area of approx. 200 acres. Moreover, their model aims to benefit at least 200 small pineapple producers and generate at least 2,000 jobs through the installation of a fruit processing plant and a research laboratory to extract active ingredients.The project in a nutshell will provide a platform for small-hold farms to enter the global market and receive more profitable sales for their products, while directly and indirectly empowering thousands of people – especially women who make up a large share of small-hold farmers.
Through the J-CUB program and Jacobs University the two hope to receive the support to help them further develop their project and potentially acquire resources for the early stage of their business plan. They are excited to participate in this year’s Jacobs Start-Up Competition and showcase a project developed right here at Jacobs!
By Timo Lukas Behrend (Chile/Germany/Portugal) and Maria Fernanda Santos (Honduras) | class of 2021
