Seedlings

The result: Cargill's corporate leadership team approved thecreation of EVentures, a business unit with its ownfinancial goals, which now employs more than 20 people inoffices in Minneapolis, Silicon Valley, the United Kingdomand Singapore. Today, the EVentures' Portfolio has investedin seven B2B marketplaces that roughly parallel Cargill'sown lines of business, including GSX, a steel exchange, andLevelSeas, a marketplace for bulk shipping. It's alsostarted investing in technology startups such as DemandTec,which offers a price optimization service, and EPropose,which builds transactional and exchange technology.

Cargill hopes that its emphasis on long-term commitment -aswell as its canny use of industry expertise and an intricatenetwork of business relationships- will help the startupsthrive. The company has come up with the following cleverways to put its corporate weight behind the fledglingcompanies. Like any good farmer, Cargill knows that youngseedlings grow best with loving care.