Bulgarian biotech Nasekomo receives €8M from Invenio Partners

Sofia-based biotech startup Nasekomo has received €8 million in a Series A round, led by private equity fund Invenio Partners. The company will use the capital to support its transition to a data-driven franchising business model.

• Established in 2017 by Xavier and Olga Marcenac, and Marc Bolard, Nasekomo is biotechnology company undertaking insect farming. The team turned to insects as a solution to lower the carbon footprint, resource use, and nutritional value of animal feed.
• In July 2023, Nasekomo opened its Insect Center of Excellence and marked the first full production cycle at the facility – from insect genetic improvement to end-product manufacturing, resulting in the delivery of the initial batch of protein meals for pet food. Earlier, Nasekomo secured a grant in €2.5 million under Bulgaria’s National Recovery and Resilience plan. 

Our objective is to attain the highest level of process optimization in our upcoming factories through automation, digitization, AI-native solutions, and interconnected machinery,

Marc Bolard, co-founder at Nasekomo, said.

• The investment was led by Sofia-based Invenio Partners, which manages a private equity and growth equity fund INVENIO Partners Fund II SCSP focused on investments in Southeast Europe. Several individual investors also joined the round.
• Thanks to the funding, the company plans to operate 100 bioconversion factories in its network, each capable of processing up to 100,000 tons of biowaste into valuable insect protein, oil, and organic soil fertilizer by 2030.