The Singapore government has been launching multiple initiatives and sponsorships to tackle the challenges of sustainability and to convert the republic into a more livable and sustainable city.

Part of their plan in growing these initiatives has been leveraging on expertise from the nation’s leading research and educational institution, the National University of Singapore. What has resulted was an innovation that advances agriculture technology.

The Nusoil startup is part of fifteen other startups under the new graduate innovation program(GRIP) and has been identified as a strong market and business potential and has received seed funding received seed funding from the National University of Singapore.

Dr Tan Wee Kee and Dr Zhu Jingling are both founding members and creators of the patented superabsorbent hydrogel – InnoGro. The product is a gel like substance that is made from okara, the by-product of the soy food industry. It acts as a reservoir to retain water and nutrients for delivery to the plants over a longer and sustained period of time, before biodegrading, thereby helping the plants thrive and even flourish in drought conditions.