AgriFutures Australia managing director John Harvey at evokeAG 2019

FOUR fresh opportunities for agrifood tech startups to make their mark will be unearthed at next February’s evokeAG conference event in Melbourne.

Startups at the 18-19 February event will be able to showcase their ideas to an international audience, build their customer base and help solve today’s global agricultural challenges.

AgriFutures Australia managing director John Harvey said the 2020 event will see a focus on providing opportunities for startups to build their customer base, whilst also ensuring they have exposure to possible investors.

“The new Startup Program at evokeAG 2020 will showcase startups (domestic and international) within the agrifood tech ecosystem,” Mr Harvey said. “This showcase will complement the wider event program and has a renewed focus on exposing startups to an international audience. This is an opportunity to network, build relationships and take new startup businesses to the next level,” he said.

This year’s inaugural evokeAG event attracted 1100 delegates representing a cross-section of industries and sectors.

There are four opportunities for both local and international agtech and agrifood startups to get involved at evokeAG 2020:

The Startup Showcase – Local Ecosystem: this stream will provide a platform for local (Australian, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands) startups to showcase their ideas in front of an international audience.

The Startup Showcase – International Scale-ups: this stream will provide a platform for international startups which are interested in solving global problems facing the Australian agricultural sector and/or expanding their business into Australia.

Startup Alley: up to 40 agrifood tech startups will have a space to exhibit their products in a high-traffic area.

Investor Pitch: This pitch is a stand-alone event on the eve of evokeAG^. 2020, aiming to facilitate curated conversations and connections between international and local investors, and Australian and NZ companies. Startups will pitch directly to an invitation-only investor audience over dinner.

evokeAG^. 2019 Startup Alley participant and founder of Agrinet, Dan Winson, said it’s an opportunity for startups to make tangible leads.

“From a startup perspective, this year’s first evokeAG^. Event was the best conference I have ever been to. After the two days, I had 50 leads and I had lost my voice from talking to so many of the delegates! The event has accelerated my startups’ progress,” Mr Winson said.

evokeAG^. Startup Program Steering Committee member George Peppou said successful applicants will have innovative and scalable business models.

“We will be looking for products that solve big problems in the agrifood sector to produce food or fibre  better than current best practices or anything else on the market. Big ambitions and focusing on global problems is also a huge draw card for the selection panel,” Mr Peppou said.

CEO of CertusBio, Dr Matthew Jones, pitched his wastewater reduction product to more than 1000 delegates at this year’s event. He said the level of exposure it gave his startup was a stand-out.

“The publicity we received after the event gave our business credibility. It has also exposed us to new opportunities and ideas. We travelled to the US this year to look into their dairy market, and we had introductions to three of the large dairy companies in Australia.”

Co-Founder of escaVOX, Darryl Lyons said the event was an opportunity to meet investors such as Yamaha and AgFunder face-to-face.

“That makes a world of difference. The event was a pivotal moment for us and left us feeling invigorated. It’s by far, the stand-out agtech event for the year.”

Applications for the 2020 event close Friday, 13 September.

• For more information visit: https://evokeag.com/2020-startup-program/Asia Pacific’s largest agrifood tech event, evokeAG 2020, will take place in Melbourne at the Royal Exhibition Building on 18-19 February 2020.  Tickets are available online, with Student and Primary Producer discounted tickets available.