Founders
John Breedveld
CEO & Founder
After years of experience in the Gulf region he has started with indoor farming based on Dutch technology and been specialised in this. Initially launched GrowArabic but due to a more global scope later launched GrowGroup IFS.
LinkedIn
John Breedveld is Founder and CEO of GrowGroup IFS, responsible for the company’s strategic direction, international growth and development of high-impact partnerships.
With extensive experience in international business, technology and large-scale project development, he focuses on building scalable agricultural ecosystems that connect commercial viability with long-term food security.
John is the driving force behind GrowGroup’s international expansion and the Global Agri Center ecosystem, bringing governments, industry and knowledge institutions together to accelerate agricultural innovation and local value creation. A key part of his role is developing and maintaining senior-level relationships with governments, ministries, embassies, diplomatic missions and other public-sector stakeholders in GrowGroup’s international markets.
Within GrowGroup IFS, his focus is on strategy, market development, institutional relations, strategic partnerships and the creation of new international business platforms.
Focus: Strategy • International Growth • Government & Institutional Relations • Strategic Partnerships • Food Security • Global Agri Centers
As part of the wider GrowGroup ecosystem, John is closely involved in the strategic development and positioning of the Group’s international platforms and specialised business units.
These include Global Agri Center (globalagricenter.com), GrowGroup’s platform for integrated agricultural ecosystem development, GrowGroup.shop (growgroup.shop), which supplies consumables and innovative farming solutions to farmers and project developers, and GAAS Wageningen (gaas-wageningen.nl), focused on applied agricultural knowledge and innovation.
John van Breugel
CFO & Co-Founder
Certified Public Accountant of original profession, studied at Nyenrode Business University in The Netherlands and experienced in corporate finance, investments, project development and project management.
LinkedIn
John van Breugel is Co-Founder and CFO of GrowGroup IFS and leads the company’s financial strategy as well as the development and international rollout of the Grow Container Systems (GCS).
Combining strong financial expertise with a pragmatic approach to technology and project execution, John plays a key role in translating innovative growing concepts into commercially viable and scalable solutions.
He is responsible for financial structuring, business modelling, project economics and investor relations across the GrowGroup organisation, while overseeing the GCS division and its portfolio of modular, controlled-environment growing solutions.
John is closely involved in discussions with investors, financing partners and strategic stakeholders, helping to structure projects and growth opportunities in a way that supports both commercial viability and long-term scalability.
Focus: Finance • Fundraising • Investor & Banker Relations • Grow Container Systems • Business Modelling • Project Structuring • Commercialisation • International Deployment
Within the wider GrowGroup ecosystem, John contributes to the commercial, financial and operational development of the Group’s specialised platforms and business units.
Alongside Grow Container Systems, these include Global Agri Center (globalagricenter.com), GrowGroup.shop (growgroup.shop), and GAAS Wageningen (gaas-wageningen.nl). Together, these platforms connect knowledge, technology, project development and market access within one integrated international agricultural network.