Sydney Demoday to feature food and agtech start-ups

SparkLabs Cultiv8, the start-up food and agtech accelerator, has announced that food and agricultural technology start-ups will gather to share insights and the latest global tech trends in Sydney on Tuesday, 10 September at its annual Demoday, held at the Sofitel Wentworth Sydney.

The Demoday brings together entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives, media and government leaders all focused on changing the way we create, distribute and consume food sustainably. It is an opportunity for start-ups who have been through the SparkLabs Cultiv8 Accelerator Program to highlight their vision and the impact their businesses are creating. Companies receive an investment of up to $100,000 seed funding from the $10 million SparkLabs Cultiv8 fund, bringing the fund’s portfolio to 16 companies.

The companies benefit from SparkLabs’ resources and the NSW Department of Primary Industries, with cohort participants able to access the space and resources of the Global AgTech Ecosystem (GATE) located in Orange, NSW.

Companies participating in the 2019 SparkLabs Cultiv8 Demoday include:

• InnerPlant — a biosensor sentinel plant platform, developed by a US-based start-up, that senses plant changes at a molecular level, alerting farmers to allow instant action.
• MPT — an Australian business using sensors located in farm equipment to measure moisture in soil, collecting data that can be used to optimise planting and yields.
• Oaesis — a Saudi Arabian business developing laser-based lighting systems for indoor farming that improve efficiency and reduce energy and watering costs.
• SIPP — an Australian company developing functional beverages packaged in sustainable home-compostable packaging, with $1 from every pouch sold donated to Wildark, an organisation dedicated to making our planet more sustainable.
• The Training Paddock — an Australian-developed online skills management system providing farmers with insights about workers’ skills that steers and validates workers’ professional development.
• traive — initially rolled out in Brazil, traive is an online lending platform using artificial intelligence and big data to support new risk-reduced lending opportunities in agriculture.
• Zetifi — an Australian company that has developed affordable solar-powered on-farm Wi-Fi overcoming mobile blackspots and helping to simplify and streamline farm management.
   

The 2019 cohort and Demoday will feature a wide variety of people in many fields keen to again participate in the sellout event. Attendees include Australian and global investors, specialist agtech companies, venture and corporate venture capital, corporates and institutions. Over 450 people attended last year’s Demoday and proved that, through the convergence of such networks, relationships are formed and unexpected opportunities arise for start-ups.

For further information, click here. 

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