A business accelerator that invests in sustainable methods of increasing the world food supply and a St. Louis-based non-profit entrepreneurial organization that builds successful companies team up to further the cause of agriculture technology. The Yield Lab and Arch Grants announced their partnership to help ag tech startups in the St. Louis region.

“LifePack is an international company from Cali, Colombia which manufactures plates and other items made of natural plant fibers and seeds that germinate in a backyard garden or landfill when exposed to light, air, and water,” explained Ginger Imster, Executive Director of Arch Grants. “The Yield Lab is an ideal location for LifePack to headquarter because of its network of major agricultural players in the St. Louis Region.”

LifePack will join the Yield Lab on-site at the Helix Center and participate in the 2015 Yield Lab program which will focus on direct business training, mentoring, and networking opportunities. “We have a long list of resources that will provide high value and growth potential for LifePack,” said Thad Simons, Lead Managing Partner of the Yield Lab, “we look forward to working with LifePack and a continued relationship with Arch Grants to tap into the growing Agriculture Technology sector.”

This is just the beginning of the partnership between the ag and entrepreneurial groups. Yield Lab’s inaugural 2015 class will have four to six companies with the program beginning in January. The Yield Lab is accepting applications through October 31, 2014 and Arch Grants will open its 2015 application January 1, 2015.