# About Us

Believe it or not, we started out as an ant farming company (hence the name "GreenAnt")

Weaver ants—pinkish insects with a green-colored queen—are a mighty species indigenous to Southeast Asia. These ants feed on other critters and, as such, can serve as a natural alternative to chemical pesticides. Our company was born when our founder had the idea to try to scale this natural pesticide solution. In January 2022, when we launched our first pilot program in Thailand with support from the Thai government, we planned to work with local farmers to help them cultivate these ants. We hoped to spur organic agricultural practices and put an end to the chemicals ravaging the health of the surrounding community and environment.

Soon after we arrived, however, we realized that we had misunderstood the problem. Pesticides were being used not for lack of a natural alternative, but because of the risk associated with organic practices. Farmers were structurally shut out from financial markets and banking systems and unable to acquire the necessary loans. The result was that they were unwilling or unable to shift away from the use of chemicals because they couldn’t afford to lose their crops.

So we pivoted. It was clear that GreenAnt had to focus on empowering farmers and tackle this problem of risk more directly if we were to fulfill our mission. We turned to satellite monitoring—which we’d been using to analyze the efficacy of the ants as pesticide alternatives—realizing that its expansive capabilities provided a much more potent, more comprehensive tool to mitigate risk, sure up farmers’ security, and bolster climate resilience.

Today, our mission is simple

We’ve come a long way since that first pilot project in Thailand—we’ve since said goodbye to the ants—but our core, driving purpose remains fundamentally the same: To empower people with tools that reduce loss and harm; to improve access to capital, especially for vulnerable farmers; and to facilitate sustainable, climate-informed practices that boost resilience. We think that this is a critical need in the fight against global climate change.

We’ve built a game-changing platform that integrates the massive potential of satellite data (which, in our opinion, is the new technological frontier) with Artificial Intelligence to produce sophisticated, innovative insights that align with our mission. In addition to supporting farmers and boosting resilience, Desidera is poised to boost global agricultural yields by some 17%, to help anticipate global price and supply chain volatility, and even to save lives in the event of a natural disaster.

As we continue to evolve and adapt, our focus remains steadfast on this mission of ours. Together, we can forge a path towards a more sustainable and equitable future, where all of us can thrive and contribute to a healthier planet.

Interested in joining us on our mission? Learn more about Desidera [here](http://www.greenant.ai/solutions) or [get started](http://desidera.ai/) today.

## Meet the staff

- Anya Bégué - COO
- Mario Edoardo Simmaco - Founder & CEO
- Luca Maruzzo - Lawyer
- Sinan Lahur - Lawyer
- Kelly Pickreign - CFO
- Didi Chadran - Senior Marketing Strategist
- Shubham Bhatt - Lead Systems Architect & Developer
- Srilakshmi Gnanasekaran - Developer
- Qi Liu - CTO

## Award-winning team

After being invited to pitch by LUMO Labs, GreenAnt was named second runner-up at Draper’s Silicon Spring Pitch competition, winning a 12,000 EUR grant and a spot in the prestigious Draper University Hero Training Program. This 6-week intensive accelerator program in Silicon Valley includes skill-building workshops, lectures, investor meet-and-greets, a demo day, and more.

GreenAnt had the honor of being selected as a finalist for ImpactCity’s The Hague Innovators ImpactFest, which was held on November 7th, 2023. On the day of the event, we were honored again when we learned we’d been voted as the public’s favorite finalist, winning the “Audience Prize.” This award was among several recent recognitions and accolades that GreenAnt, our CEO, and our members have recently received.

Our CEO, Mario Simmaco, won the 2024 pitch competition at Milano Wine Week alongside two other Italian startups. The prize? Taking part in an exciting accelerator program called Wine in Action, where GreenAnt had the privilege of connecting with stakeholders across the Italian wine sector, learning about their agricultural monitoring needs, and workshopping pilots.