September 16, 2016

Australia’s National Famers’ Federation has partnered with financial advisory firm, Findex, to launch a $10 million agtech fund and accelerator program.

The initiative, which will be run by the newly formed organization, SproutX, and headed up by former wool and beef farmer, Sam Threthewey, will be financially backed by the government of Victoria which is committing $1 million to the venture, along with additional backers, Ruralco and Artesian Venture Partners.

Mr. Threthewey told Australian Financial Review that being a farmer himself adds focus to the direction of the fund.

“For SproutX close relationships with farmers in the industry is very important. Overseas accelerators can be quite fluffy and they lose track of what they want to achieve, but by keeping a close connection with farmers it makes sure you’re solving problems they actually have.”

The first step being taken by the venture is the launch of a national pre-accelerator that will build a class from 100 Australian applicants that it feels have commercially promising ideas. The accepted applicants will be given access to mentors, be taught business development skills, and given a support network thorughout the eight week program. And although SproutX will be located in Victoria, chosen participants will not be required to relocate.

A National Need

The announcement of the SproutX fund comes only days after StartupAUS, Australia’s top start-up body released Powering Growth: Realizing the Potential of AgTech for Australia, a report commissioned by StartupAUS, KPMG, Commonwealth Bank, and the Queensland government that determines that agtech is a critical factor if Australia’s agricultural sector will reach its goal of becoming a $100 billion industry by 2030. However, the report goes on to state that there is a dire lack of investment, national strategy, and domestic opportunity.

“We have an extremely valuable opportunity here to develop technologies that make a real difference to the economy’s bottom line, while also helping rural Australia realise [sic] the economic benefits of the digital technology revolution,” said Alex McCauley chief executive with StartupAUS.

“Accelerator programs such as SproutX can provide more specialised [sic] support for agtech start-ups, which can have a different and often longer product development cycle compared to straight tech start-ups,” Sarah Last, co-founder of agtech startup, MimicTec told AFR. “And there’s also an inherent disconnect with our customers, who are in rural Australia whereas most entrepreneurs are in city centres [sic].”

Following the launch of the pre-accelerator, SproutX will launch its national accelerator and $10 million fund in the first quarter of 2017, meanwhile, it hopes to gain additional funding from industry leaders and the public sector.

SproutX can be one step toward fulfilling StartupAUS’ recommendations that the country strive to attract more investors into agtech and increase opportunity for technology development.

“Right now the industry stands at a crossroads,” Andrew Robb, former minister for trade and investment told The Australian, “the economic benefits … are very real.”

—

Lynda Kiernan