Japan’s Marubeni Invests in Blockchain Startup Covantis

Marubeni Corporation of Japan has agreed to invest in Swiss digital blockchain startup Covantis.

First announced in late 2018 and incorporated in March 2020 by global grain giants ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Cofco Corp., Louis Dreyfus, and Viterra, Covantis was launched to build a platform to democratize post-trade execution processes for agri-commodities in bulk, with the aim to achieve greater efficiency, transparency, and data exchange for all involved parties.

Noting that international bulk trading of commodities such as grains and oilseeds require complicated workflows, Marubeni stated that it sees this investment as a way to modernize and transform the “centuries-old archaic processes of agri-commodity execution”.

With a strong base on supply chain management via procurement, distribution, and storage in Japan, Marubeni, together with Covantis, plans to further strengthen the value proposition for market participants, and to enable end-to-end optimization from origination to end buyer.

Since its launch, Covantis has seen rapid growth, reaching 24 clients, more than 80 legal entities, and hundreds of individuals currently using its platform. And with Marubeni as a new shareholder, the company noted it will be able to continue investing in new capabilities, expand into new origin and destination markets, and to add new commodities to its platform for both current and future clients.

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