Hosted by AgriFutures Australia, the aim is of the event is to highlight, discuss and debate exciting developments surrounding the future of our food and how it will be produced.
An expert panel of judges selected 14 finalists for evokeAG Pitch Tent. The successful startups will have the opportunity to project their ideas onto a global path to success whilst simultaneously tackling problems faced by primary producers within farming.
Among the final entrepreneurs is a grasshopper farmer from Israel, an aeronautical engineer specialising in drones from Sydney and a New Zealand-based wine maturation startup. Each finalist will receive mentorship to further develop their concepts and finesse their final pitch prior to evokeAG.
Agritech New Zealand, Executive Director, Peter Wren-Hilton said the calibre of Pitch Tent applicants far exceeded expectations in terms of the incredible innovation exemplified by startups from around the world.
“The finalists were ultimately selected for their cutting-edge technologies, dynamic business models and bold efforts in creating a sustainable agrifood tech system. It was a privilege to be part of the judging process and I look forward to seeing these entrepreneurs launch and scale their ideas in order to create real and meaningful solutions for the planet,” said Mr Wren-Hilton.
The primary producer and agrifood startup finalists will soon have the opportunity to pitch their ideas on stage at evokeAG to an international audience including investors, corporate decision-makers and industry influencers. Each idea will be assessed by an expert panel of judges for a chance to share in a total prize pool of $35,000 plus in-kind prizes.
The following finalists and their respective streams are detailed below.
Investment Ready: This stream is our showcase pitch. Participants will be high quality and looking to scale globally. Finalists in this stream are in market and post seed funding stage and are vying for the $20,000 prize plus in-kind prizes:
- Dr Anastasia Volkova | FluroSat | Sydney | NSW
- Mr Dror Tamir | Hargol Food Tech | Israel
- Dr Matthew Jones | Certus Bio | Lincoln | New Zealand
- Mr Jonathan Boswell | Wine Grenade | Avondale | New Zealand
- Mr Robert Trenchard | Hydrox Technologies | Sumner Park | QLD
Seed Funding: This stream is for those entrepreneurs seeking seed funding/partnership to commercialise their idea. The winner in this stream will take home $10,000 plus in-kind prizes:
- Mr Vlatko Materic | Hot Lime Labs | Gracefield | New Zealand
- Mr Darren Wolchyn | Smart Paddock | Sandringham | VIC
- Mr Sam Duncan | Farm Lab | Armidale | NSW
- Ms Lisa McFadyen | Secure Impact | Condobolin | NSW
- Mr Scott Glover | Agri Ace | Merriwa | NSW