Perth-based SWAN Systems has won the FoodBytes! Pitch 2020 Award for its precision irrigation and fertilizer platform that helps growers schedule, monitor, and optimise the management of water, nutrients, and crop health.
Fifteen food and agriculture entrepreneurs took part; presenting new ideas to feed the world more sustainably at the FoodBytes! Pitch 2020 competition recently.
As part of the redesigned FoodBytes! Pitch startup discovery program, Rabobank named Agricycle Global, Envara Health and SWAN Systems the 2020 winners for their breakthrough innovations in food loss mitigation, precision nutrition, and water management, respectively.
The most promising startup in each category – Consumer Food & Beverage (CPG), Food Tech and Agtech – claimed $10,000 to support their business, as well as consulting services from FoodBytes! Pitch members.
The virtual pitch competition marked the culmination of Rabobank’s redesigned FoodBytes! Pitch startup discovery program, which helps entrepreneurs scale their impact in solving food system challenges through mentorship and connections to corporate and investor members – who in turn gain access to a vetted pipeline of startups aligned with their innovation goals.
To earn FoodBytes! Pitch top honors, the winners distinguished themselves from 15 finalists, who were selected from the full FoodBytes! Pitch 2020 cohort of 45 startups.
“Standing out from a record field of nearly 340 applications globally, the FoodBytes! Pitch 2020 winners represent the future of food and agribusiness innovation,” Rabobank Head of F&A Innovation Anne Greven says.
“Their breakthrough technologies have the potential to help solve major food system challenges, including food loss, malnutrition, and water scarcity.
“That’s why FoodBytes! Pitch is about so much more than a prize. Rabobank is facilitating productive, lasting connections between startups, investors and large food and ag companies.”
SWAN Systems claimed the Agtech Award for Innovation in Water and Resource Management.
Judges said that SWAN Systems stood out as the winning agtech company for its precision irrigation and fertilizer platform that helps growers schedule, monitor, and optimise management of water, nutrients, and crop health to improve economic and environmental outcomes.
SWAN’s technology transforms historic, current and predictive data from multiple sources into actionable insights – guiding farmers to apply the right amount of water and nutrients, at the right time.
The FoodBytes! judges recognized the cutting-edge nature of SWAN’s technology and its potential for significant impact on the key issue of water management.
“Water scarcity is a growing problem, and we need to be smarter about how we produce food, so this honor from FoodBytes! Pitch is about much more than an award to us,” SWAN Systems executive chairman Rod Campbell says.
“Rabobank’s validation is a powerful force for engaging new customers and scaling our impact on sustainable agriculture. Our team has been amazed at the quality and breadth of connections we’ve made through FoodBytes! as we look to raise capital, and ultimately expand into North America.”