#Investment

It was billed as the ‘had to have’ ticket for investment-ready startups at evoke^AG. 2020, and now interest in the evoke^AG. 2022 Investor Dinner has stepped up a notch, with investors equally excited to secure their own seat at the table.

With more than 40 years in the venture capital game, Andy Ziolkowski – the Managing Director of US-based food and agriculture-focused venture capital firm, Cultivian Sandbox and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Cultivian Ventures – knows a good investment when he sees one.

AgriFutures Australia Managing Director, John Harvey shares his vision for Australian agrifood tech innovation and why global collaboration is needed to continue driving commercialisation of homegrown R&D and global partnerships. Here he speaks with Australian agritech entrepreneur and BDO AgTech Lead, Michael Macolino, about evoke^AG. and new platform – grow^AG. to help accelerate the innovation pathway.

The Startup Network is set to ensure Australian founders remain focused on farmers’ needs as they ride the digital driven agritech boom.

As the Managing Partner of Omnivore – the largest and oldest player in the Indian agritech venture scene – Mark Kahn understands what it takes to really ‘make it’ after building a venture capital firm from the ground up that’s pioneered agritech investing in India.

Australia’s first and only specialist agrifood tech VC firm, Tenacious Ventures has reached a significant milestone – closing its first venture capital fund, oversubscribed at AUD $35M. The firm supports early-stage startups with tech-enabled new business models that are helping agriculture transition to a carbon-neutral and climate-resilient future.

Join the evoke^AG. and AgriStart team, as we deep dive into the topic of 'Growing an agrifood startup in Australia'.

In 2020, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned the world about the fatal impact of climate change in a blog post titled: “COVID-19 is awful. Climate change could be worse.”

It’s hardly apples for apples when it comes to comparing farm sizes and consumer spending between Southeast Asia and Australia – but the opportunities for Aussie startups to explore ASEAN destinations for their agritech are growing.

A game-changing online digital platform connecting the world to Australian agricultural innovation will drive investment, commercialisation and make research and development outcomes transparent for levy payers and the community. Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said growAG will showcase success stories, research projects and commercial opportunities in one centralised location.

It is a great time to be in rural research and innovation. There is a landslide of activity across agriculture, fisheries and forestries, all designed to deliver new technologies and opportunities to Australian farmers.

If you want to know more about the VC investment process and what documents you’ll need when raising capital, watch the final Grassroots Series session with Ben Lee, founder of InvestiGro and Peter Huynh, Venture Capitalist from Qualgro discuss their experiences.