Agri-TechE, is inviting founders to pitch their agri-tech, nature-tech and food-tech start ups to investors at its annual Focus on Finance event on September 17th at Niab, Cambridge.
The event brings together start-ups seeking funding, academics exploring commercialisation routes, investors looking for high-quality deal flow, and industry professionals supporting business growth and innovation.
Expert speakers including Omar Habbal, co-founder of Bramble, Antony Yousefian, partner at The First Thirty and Chris Danks, head of agri food at Innovate UK, will discuss the opportunities for grants and investment as well as provide expert insights to help shape investors’ and founders’ strategies in the sector.
“We are issuing an open call for start-ups to apply to join our pitch session, and for investors to have the opportunity to be introduced to some exciting new opportunities,” says Dr Belinda Clarke, director of Agri-TechE.
This year’s event comes amid a shift in approach from private and public investment, explains Belinda. UKRI's new five year strategy, published in July, signals an important evolution in the agri-tech funding landscape.
However, it also signals a shift in what funders will be looking for. With a renewed focus on aligning public and private investment and an ambition to attract at least £3 of private investment for every £1 of public funding, the focus is shifting from supporting innovation in isolation to accelerating commercial growth.
Antony Yousefian, a partner at The First Thirty, believes that greater collaboration among start-ups to build vertical systems generates more valuable and attractive companies.
“We have lots of converging technologies. Sensing costs have collapsed, as have genetics and computation costs. Things that cost start-ups millions and take years can be done in minutes using open source models.
“Now feels different to before. It’s a special time, which may now be the time for ag-tech.
“We take a systems approach to portfolio construction. We back fewer companies, and we back them because they make each other more valuable. Each one has to win on its own. Together they should be worth more than the sum of them,” declares Antony.
Similarly, the most successful companies are unlikely to be those pursuing a single source of funding or viewing grants, investment and other funding sources as separate silos, but those that understand how different forms of finance can work together to support innovation, commercialisation and growth, says Belinda.
“Bringing together those perspectives is exactly what Focus on Finance is designed to do.
“By connecting grant-awarding bodies, angel investors, venture capital firms, industry experts and businesses at every stage of growth, it offers a unique opportunity to understand how different sources of capital can be aligned to support sustainable scaling/how those funding streams can be combined,” she concludes.
For more information, to apply to pitch, or purchase a ticket, visit the Agri-TechE website.
