(Pictured: Winner of the 2022 Best Newcomer Award, Jack Cotter of Cotter Agritech with Anna May McHugh, Managing Director of the National Ploughing Championships and David Leydon, Head of Food & Agribusiness at ifac.)
For the fourth year in a row, ifac is supporting Enterprise Ireland and the National Ploughing Association to recognise early-stage, Irish agtech businesses and entrepreneurs that are leading the way with their innovative products. Previous winners include:
Marteye (2019) – an online trading platform used by marts and breeders in Ireland and the UK
Strongbó (2020) – the automated collection and analysis of animal weight data through a bespoke hardware and software platform
Moonsyst (2021) – a smart rumen monitoring system to accurately detect heats and monitor health
Cotter Agritech (2022) – a hardware product to accurately handle, weigh and draft sheep and lambs along with a software product to reduce wormer use.
The winner of the ifac Best Newcomer Award 2023 will receive 12 months of ifac advisory and accountancy services such as business structure and tax advisory, financial planning, growth strategy and corporate finance.
Startup businesses set to shape the future of the Irish agtech industry will be on view within the Innovation Arena during the National Ploughing Championships, as well as previous participants whose businesses are now more developed. These will include new machinery and systems designed to support farmers and sustainable farming.
David Leydon, our Head of Food and AgriBusiness said:
“Despite all the economic uncertainty in the world, fortunately, the agtech sector has demonstrated its resilience and is in growth with many new early-stage startups. We are delighted to be back judging the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena Awards and via the ifac Best Newcomer Award to help unveil the latest agtech talent to help make farmers’ lives easier. We are looking forward to working with the 2023 award winner by providing our sectoral knowledge to help them develop their business.”
Applications are now open for the Innovation Arena 2023 Competition. The closing date is Friday, 2nd June and applicants can apply here.
Each year, ifac’s award-winning Advisory Food and Agribusiness team publishes its Food and Agribusiness Report which contains a whole section about agtech, as well as lots of valuable insights and advice to assist businesses.