Agritech startups in angel glow
Agritech innovators bathed in the spotlight at the latest Agribusiness Investment Showcase near Palmerston North as they pitched their wares to investors looking for the next best deal.
The focus this year of the showcase, sponsored by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and the ASB, was on 12 companies working on environmental and precision technologies.
‘‘These companies show tenacity and courage, it’s been quite inspirational to work with them,’’ said NZTE investment leader Quentin Quin.
ASB Agri-capital leader Kevim Cooney said the bank was keen to ensure the resources the companies needed were allocated in an appropriate way. ’’We need to watch we don’t spread ourselves too thin,’’ he warned, because of the scarcity of domestic investment.
The evening took the form of a five-minute pitch from each company to an audience of about 50 institutional and angel investors. Eight of the startups had been working with NZTE, and four were graduates of Sprout, a business accelerator programme.
Innovations ranged from a robotic apple packing system, drones for mining and surveying, a method of being able to monitor pest traps from a mobile phone, and a honey tracking application from hive to jar. The startups covered a range from businesses still in the developmental stage to others which were successfully established with export orders but seeking more finance to take their business to a higher level.
Funding sought covered a spectrum from $500,000 up to $5 million.
Quin said over the last four years NZTE had worked with 75 startups, and raised $203m. Last year it had been able to match all the companies which had pitched to investors.
He noted New Zealand had 12,000 small enterprises with a turnover of up to $5m, 595 with up to $25m and 295 above that. The goal was to lift the smaller companies up a notch into a higher turnover bracket.
NZTE’S Dylan Lawrence said it wanted to help take New Zealand businesses into the world.
‘‘One of the biggest constraints is getting investment. We have limited pools of capital domestically. We chose the themes of enviro-tech and precision tech because they are hot trends globally and New Zealand has a competitive advantage in these areas,’’ Lawrence said.
NZTE prepares the companies to the point where they are ready to make their case to investors.
Recent successes include the Ubco electric farm bike which is now fully commercialised and selling in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the United States and Sunfed Foods designed plant protein meats which will soon be on supermarket shelves.
Outpost Central smart water meters won last year’s NZ Hitech most innovative agritech product award. Future showcases will take place in Singapore, San Francisco and Sydney.