AgTech company nextProtein has secured €18M in Series B funding to scale production of insect protein, aiming to provide sustainable ingredients for the feed and agriculture industries.
nextProtein, an AgTech company based in Paris, Lyon, France and Tunisia, has unveiled the successful close of its €18 million Series B funding round to scale up and accelerate production to meet growing market demand for insect-based protein.
The new investment will enable nextProtein to significantly scale its operations, including the opening of its second state-of-the-art production facility and expansion of production capacity operations and achieve profitability through its second facility in Tunisia designed to produce 12,000 tons of insect-based ingredients annually (of which 2,500 tonnes per year of protein powder).
The round is co-led by Swen Capital’s Blue Ocean Fund and British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, and with continued support from existing investors Mirova through its fund dedicated to ocean protection and RAISE Impact. Additionally, €4 million of senior debt from Société Générale, CIC Paris Innovation, and La Banque des Start-ups by LCL underscores strong investor confidence in nextProtein’s technology, business model, and path to scale, according to the announcement.
A CIRCULAR APPROACH
Founded to address the growing demand for sustainable protein alternatives, nextProtein produces insect-derived ingredients such as protein powder (nextMeal), oil (nextOil) and fertiliser (nextGrow), for the feed (primarily aquaculture, but also livestock and petfood) and agriculture industries.
The company highlights that its circular approach — sourcing from low-value feedstocks with little to no competing demand in emerging markets — ensures nextProtein delivers a cost-competitive, low-impact, and high- efficiency source of protein, positioning its products to compete at commodity scale with traditional protein sources such as fishmeal.
“With this funding, we are taking a decisive step toward producing insect protein at true industrial scale,” said Mohamed Gastli, co-founder and CEO of nextProtein. “Our model focuses on CAPEX & OPEX efficiency and is designed to utilise highly variable low-value feedstocks, addressing a critical industrial bottleneck that we have mitigated through extensive R&D, allowing us to offer cost-efficient ingredients that can be mainstreamed across global supply chains.”
“Insect based ingredients are at an inflection point,” added Syrine Chaalala, co-founder and General Manager of nextProtein. “The challenge is no longer whether insect protein works— it does—but whether it can compete on cost and availability with existing commodities. That’s where nextProtein is leading the way, with a technology and model specifically tailored to emerging markets.”
“Our years of operational R&D have not only proven that our technology is reliable at scale, but they have also enabled us to continuously refine performance,” explained Mtir Ben Aribia, Head of Operations at nextProtein Tunisia. “By testing 100+ feedstock ingredients and optimizing our recipes, we’ve steadily improved our feed conversion ratio, ensuring we are able to compete head-to-head with traditional protein sources.”
The company stresses that the Series B round underscores growing investor confidence in sustainable agri-food technologies that can help address climate change, biodiversity loss, and food security challenges.
“By turning agricultural and food waste into scalable, low-carbon animal feeds, nextProtein demonstrates how agri-tech can reshape food systems and reduce environmental impact. As our first direct investment in Tunisia, nextProtein not only helps to protect the ocean and reduce emissions, but it also paves the way to attract more investments in novel climate startups in support of Africa’s climate innovation,” noted Sherine Shohdy, North Africa Regional Director and Head of Office, Egypt at BII.
“nextProtein is setting a new benchmark for the insect protein industry,” remarked Julie Peyrache, Investment Director on the SWEN Blue Ocean team. “By focusing on cost competitiveness and industrial scalability, they are proving that insect-based ingredients can become a mainstream commodity and drive meaningful change in global food systems.”
With this Series B funding, nextProtein states that it is well-positioned to deliver on its long-term goal of scaling up, establishing itself as one of the most competitive and sustainable players in the insect protein market.
