FOROS

Founded in 2017, FOROS operates as a digital marketplace and alternative investment platform focused on forestry. Headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, the company aims to simplify and open up the process of forestry investment and management for a broader audience. The business model is structured as a B2B and B2C marketplace, connecting forest owners with investors and forestry professionals. By July 2021, the company had raised $1.42 million in a Seed funding round led by Iron Wolf Capital, with participation from other institutional investors like 70V and CoInvest Capital.

FOROS provides a platform where users can buy, grow, and sell forest lands through auctions. For forest owners, the platform offers tools to determine the value of their assets based on real-time market data and to sell their property via an open auction process. This structure is designed to create competition among verified buyers and secure a higher price for the seller. For investors, FOROS provides access to a selection of forests with validated data, allowing them to bid without upfront payments. The platform facilitates cross-border investing and aims to disrupt what it considers a fragmented industry by providing a trustworthy, digital solution.

A key feature of the service is the 'forest value growth plan,' which offers owners personalized suggestions for sustainable forest management to increase the value of their assets and generate income without selling the land. The platform utilizes big data analytics and machine learning to support decision-making for both management and investment activities. Since its inception, FOROS has facilitated over €24 million in forest land transactions, underscoring the demand for a modernized approach in the forestry sector. Keywords: forestry investment, green investment, forest management, land auction, timberland investment, sustainable forestry, agritech, marketplace, alternative assets, real assets, natural resources investment, forestry data analytics, cross-border investment, land value, forest assets, B2B marketplace, B2C marketplace, seed stage, Lithuanian startup, European greentech