Client Stories

Imago Engineering: Waste-to-Protein Circular System

IMAGO ENGINEERING SDN. BHD.

Sales and Marketing strategy

Overview

Imago Engineering is a Malaysia-founded technology company building modular, automated plants that convert poultry manure into high-value insect protein meal and organic fertilizer. Their proprietary housefly-based bioconversion process targets farms with 300,000+ birds and is designed for fast throughput, lower emissions, and practical deployment near production sites. Compared with traditional waste routes, the model is built around circular economics: converting a costly waste stream into usable feed and fertilizer outputs.

AI-poweredLightweightE-paymentsModular

Waste is not the end of the chain. With the right system, it becomes protein, fertilizer, and long-term value for agriculture.

Leonid Nikishov, Chief Executive Officer

Product

Products

Benefits & features

67.5%Protein in meal
NPK 4-3-5Fertilizer profile
9-stageSafety protocol

Imago produces two complementary outputs from one waste stream: insect protein meal and frass-based organic fertilizer.

Insect protein meal

High crude protein with strong digestibility for poultry and aquaculture feed applications.

Organic fertilizer

Granular, nutrient-rich formulation that supports soil health and slow-release nutrition.

Quality control

Multi-stage safety and sanitation process designed for consistent and safe outputs.

Core technology & unit economics

3 daysProcessing cycle
$16MAnnual unit revenue
2.3 yearsPayback period

Imago's patented modular bioreactor system replaces tray-based insect farming with tightly controlled, automated cultivation.

  • Speed

    Around 3-day conversion cycle from poultry manure to marketable outputs.

  • Throughput model

    Built for high-volume farms with automated manure collection.

  • Financial profile

    Unit model references about $12.9M CAPEX and approximately $16M annual revenue.

  • Additional revenue

    Licensing layer with recurring fees on deployed systems.

Market traction & scaling path

TRL-7/8/9Roadmap stages
27 plants2035 target
846k t/yrCapacity target

Imago's roadmap moves from pilot validation to scaled plant deployment and regional expansion, with Malaysia as a strategic base.

  • Institutional traction

    Supported by Malaysian agriculture stakeholders as a green waste-to-value initiative.

  • Scale thesis

    One modular insect plant per large poultry farm cluster.

  • Growth target

    Progressive plant rollout toward regional processing capacity and recurring project revenue.

Partnership in Depth

Product & sales
Investment readiness
Government & agencies

Ailvas supported Imago on product sales and commercial traction, including sharpening positioning, buyer narratives, and go-to-market execution for modular insect plants, as well as investment readiness, including materials and conversations that help investors understand the unit economics and scale path. We also coordinated engagement with relevant Malaysian government agencies so Imago could align with policy, access programmes where appropriate, and secure the institutional backing needed to scale with confidence.