Call for Agritech and Foodtech startups in Asia Pacific region to participate in Future Food Asia Award
- Open to pre-Series A startups who wish to raise between USD 2 million or more
- Competition open in January 2017
Singapore, November 25, 2016 – ID Capital, an investment and consulting firm headquartered in Singapore, is pleased to announce the launch of the Future Food Asia Award (FFAA). Supported by the Economic Development Board (EDB) of Singapore, this Award is the first of its kind dedicated to Agriculture (Agritech) and Food technology (Foodtech) startups in the Asia Pacific region.
FFAA will select the most promising startups in the region who place sustainable development at the core of their business proposition. By connecting them to investors and multinational companies, FFAA will help them realize their full potential. The Grand Prize winner of FFAA will be awarded USD 100,000.
The Award is open to pre-Series A startups in Asia, with at least USD 500,000 seed money and who plan to raise between USD 2 million or more in the next 18 months. Applicants need to come up with an innovative and sustainable technology that impacts the food ecosystem positively.
The FFAA competition (www.futurefoodasia.com) opens in January 2017 and the award will be granted in May 2017. The jury will comprise a panel of international finance and industry experts.
An evolving food and agriculture technology landscape.
With a world population projected to increase by 33 percent to 9.7 billion by 2050 (source: UN), the entire food value chain is expected to evolve substantially. Meanwhile, most arable land on the planet has already been cultivated, and the oceans have been hit with massive overfishing. Therefore, disruptive yet sustainable innovations in agricultural and food technologies will be needed to provide fresh food to the growing world population.
As is often the case in such periods of radical change, innovation will come from both existing companies and new startups. The venture capital industry has risen to the challenge and amounts invested the Agritech/Foodtech vertical have nearly doubled from US$ 2.6 bn in 2014 to U$ 4.6 bn in 2015 While Silicon Valley, as might be expected, has been the first to embrace this revolution, momentum is now growing from the East.
Asia Pacific is home to nearly 60 percent of the world’s population, and is still powering most of this growth. As a diverse region, it is particularly exposed to the challenges stemming from rapid urbanization, evolving lifestyles among a growing middle class, and a wide variety of climate conditions. This context lays the foundation for specific solutions developed by regional startups to cater for APAC needs. FFAA was created to identify and fund such startups, and ultimately foster the entire Agritech/Foodtech ecosystem in the region.
An industry of great relevance for Singapore
The history of Singapore is testament to the fact that small territories or companies can become big and make an impact. Many leading Agricultural and Food multinationals have chosen Singapore as their regional headquarters and this vibrant business ecosystem is ripe to pivot and embrace the Agritech / Foodtech revolution. FFAA has been developed as a tool to drive this movement, and introduce high-potential startups to this ecosystem.
Singapore currently serves as the commodity trading and financing hub for Asia. EDB is keen to extend Singapore’s value proposition further and develop Singapore as an agri-technology hub by growing the agri-technology supplier ecosystem in Singapore.
Lee Eng Keat, Executive Director (International Organisations Programme Office, Logistics and Natural Resources), Singapore Economic Development Board, said, “We are excited about the launch of the Future Food Award Asia platform, to catalyse the development and commercialisation of agri-technology solutions in Singapore. This open innovation platform is aligned with EDB’s drive to establish Singapore as a leading centre for value creation by encouraging collaborations between companies.“
Isabelle Decitre, CEO and founder of ID Capital said: “We have already shortlisted a number of promising startups in the region, which should excite both investors and multinational groups. The official launch should bring many more into consideration. We are extremely honored to receive the support of the EDB. Their support has been very powerful. We believe that the EDB’s commitment to fostering innovation and industrial partnerships will create the essential ecosystem for agriculture and food technologies to flourish in the region.”
For media enquiries, please contact:
Yu Poh Leng Ruder Finn Asia
DL: +65 6336 4813
E-mail: [email protected]
Satya Priya Rakappan
Ruder Finn Asia
DL: +65 6336 9345
Email: [email protected]
About ID Capital
ID Capital is an investment and consulting boutique firm founded by Isabelle Decitre and headquartered in Singapore. Over the course of the last two years, ID Capital has screened and sourced 100 Agritech/Foodtech deals and has been actively involved in the closing of two Venture Capital investments in this sector. For further enquiries please write to [email protected]
About the Economic Development Board
The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) is the lead government agency for planning and executing strategies to enhance Singapore’s position as a global business centre. EDB dreams, designs and delivers solutions that create value for investors and companies in Singapore. Our mission is to create for Singapore, sustainable economic growth with vibrant business and good job opportunities. For more information, please visit www.sedb.com