PRESS RELEASE: Farmers2Founders announces Innovate UK Global Incubator Program- Gateway to Australia, Australia’s first Agri-Tech Global Incubator Program, in partnership with Innovate UK EDGE and GROW Impact Accelerator (Singapore).
● Australia’s agriculture industry is on track to be a $100 billion industry by 2030, creating a perfect launchpad for UK businesses to connect, collaborate and scale in Australia’s diverse and rapidly growing Agri-Tech market.
● Farmers2Founders has partnered with Innovate UK EDGE and GROW Impact Accelerator Singapore to deliver Innovate UK’s first Agri-Tech Global Incubator Program focused on Australia.
● Innovate UK Global Incubator Program – Gateway to Australia is an innovation-focused internationalisation program for UK Agri-Tech scaleups to open up commercial opportunities and confidently expand into Australia.
● Eight innovative UK Agri-Tech scaleups have been selected to participate in the program, which will plug into the Australian Agri-Tech ecosystem and engage with customers, industry & research partners and fellow entrepreneurs.
● Two funded market visits to Australia are also planned as part of this initiative. This includes the opportunity for the selected teams to engage and connect with leaders, farmers, innovators, researchers, universities, corporates, government and investors at Evoke Ag, to be held in Adelaide in February 2023, Asia Pacific’s premier agri-food tech event.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
09 /November 2022
Farmers2Founders [https://www.farmers2founders.com/] have partnered with GROW [https://gogrow.co/] and Innovate UK EDGE [https://www.innovateukedge.ukri.org/enter-new-markets/Global-Incubator-Programme] to deliver the Innovate UK Global Incubator Program- Gateway to Australia, which will help fast-track the adoption of international Agri-Tech solutions into Australia and allow the UK scaleups to more deeply understand the opportunities presented in Australia’s agricultural sectors.
Jon Hazell, Partnership Manager Global Incubator Program, Innovate UK, said, “The Gateway to Australia program is a huge opportunity for the UK scaleups; this cohort represents the UK’s best Agri-Tech innovations with the potential to grow globally.”
The following teams have been selected from over 30 applications to join this inaugural program.
● Biomation Ltd [https://www.aquagrain.co.uk/]: Organic-based, biodegradable soil improver for improved yields in horticulture and cereal crops
● Biotangents Limited [https://www.biotangents.co.uk/]: Rapid test for mastitis and BVD in cattle
● Breedr Limited [https://www.breedr.co/]: Livestock management platform, online trading, and finance
● Crover Ltd [https://www.crover.tech/]: Robotic grain storage monitoring system
● Glaia Ltd [https://www.glaia.co.uk/]: Patented technology for enhanced photosynthesis, boosting crop yields
● Map of Agriculture Ltd [https://mapof.ag/]: Data integration platform connecting farms and industry
● New Energy Farms EU Ltd [https://www.newenergyfarms.com/]: Patented technology to produce artificial seeds, which allows sugarcane to be planted like a conventional crop
● SEaB Power Ltd [https://seabenergy.com/]: Compact, onsite food and agricultural waste processing
The program’s official launch took place virtually this week, with the successful teams welcomed by Louise Cantillon (UK Consul-General for NSW and Deputy Trade Commissioner for APAC) and Anne-Maree Weston (Head of Agribusiness & Food at Austrade’s Centre of Excellence). “I’m excited for the UK teams and the journey they are about to embark on as part of the Gateway to Australia program. I don’t think there is a better time to partner with Australia than now; the warmth and enthusiasm for collaborating with the UK is unrivalled,” commented Louise. As noted by Anne-Maree, the Gateway to Australia program presents a fantastic opportunity to attract foreign investment to support the commercialisation of technology solutions in Australia. “As an open economy, trade and investment have been vital to Australia’s well-being and our strong economic growth track record.”
Throughout the five-month program, Gateway to Australia will help the eight companies to contextualise internationalisation best practices to match with Australia’s unique agrifood sector and research capability makeup, allowing them to reach the following outcomes:
● Understand the opportunity in the Australian market.
● Identify how their core capabilities/strengths and technologies align with priorities within the broad Australian agrifoodtech ecosystem and how they can become integrated within this ecosystem.
● Access new markets via technology partnering (e.g. with local Australian Agri-Tech businesses; industry bodies such as RDCs; and Australia’s world-class R&D organisations).
● Develop a global mindset and validate their technologies via partnerships with end-customers with field trials and ultimately commercial partnerships.
● Attract foreign investment to support the commercialisation of their technologies.
● Build global supply chains and business models that can be operated at scale.
Dr Christine Pitt, Managing Director of Farmers2Founders spoke about the importance of Australia being open to adopting global innovations as this will ensure our agrifood sectors have timely access to world-class solutions. “We are super excited to have the UK teams in the program and we are looking forward to working with them to help solve real industry problems and deliver benefit to our producers here in Australia.”
To learn more about the program, visit https://www.farmers2founders.com/gateway-to-australia
Media contact:
Claire Pink
Head of Operations; Farmers2Founders.
[email protected]
AboutFarmers2Founders:
Farmers2Founders is a unique world-first agrifood tech and innovation incubator that operates nationally across all sectors and all parts of the value chain. They help producers fast-track the development, commercialisation and adoption of agrifood tech and innovation solutions that benefit individual farm businesses and broader industry and community levels. Farmers2Founders also support agtech and foodtech developers and researchers looking to commercialise their technologies (eg. digital; IoT; automation & robotics; precision agriculture; data and decision support tools; traceability; controlled environment agriculture; sustainable production systems etc) and innovative agrifood businesses along the value chain looking to create impact in areas including (but not limited to): plant-based foods & alternative proteins; functional foods; health & wellness products; personalised nutrition; food & packaging waste; and the circular economy.
www.farmers2founders.com
About GROW:
Based in Singapore, GROW is an ecosystem catalyst advancing innovation, sustainability, and resilience in the food system. We’re on a mission to inspire and accelerate extraordinary founders who are developing technology solutions that deliver positive impact for people, place, and planet. Through our fund and accelerator programs we work with startups to supercharge their growth on the global stage. GROW is supported by Enterprise Singapore and backed by leading agrifoodtech VC AgFunder.
www.gogrow.co
About Innovate UK Edge:
Innovate UK EDGE is a key part of the UK innovation agency’s deep investment in the pioneering businesses that drive economic growth. It is a publicly-funded service available to all high potential small to medium sized innovation-driven companies. Innovation UK Edge work closely with leadership teams to create the conditions for each business to succeed and bring the benefits of their innovation to national and international audiences; Since 2015 they have been empowering clients to grow and scale their businesses through actionable advice, access to vital resources and opportunities to enhance their abilities.
www.innovateukedge.ukri.org/enter-new-markets/Global-Incubator-Programme
About Innovate UK:
Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency. We support business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions. We help businesses grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive, and easy to navigate.
https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/
