Investment specialist and BioPacific Partners co-founder Andrew Kelly to present at 400M

Australia and New Zealand’s AgTech scene needs to lift its game and get better at marrying innovation with attracting investment.

These are the sentiments shared by Dr Andrew Kelly, executive director and co-founder of BioPacific Partners, who will present next week at the 400M AgInnovate Investment Forum to be held in Toowoomba on 18 May.

BioPacific Partners is a venture firm specialising in bringing multinational company investment into Australia and New Zealand’s food, health and agriculture sectors, founded following the successful creation of BioPacific Ventures in 2005, a $105 million venture investment fund in the same focus areas.

Dr Kelly said that with a tsunami of funding emanating from the rich capital markets of the world, particularly the United States due to an increased focus on food security globally and the re-discovery of the giant economic sectors involved in food and food production by Silicon Valley venture capitalists, Australia and New Zealand needed to better position their innovations for investment.

“Innovation remains vigorous in AgTech in Australia as it has for years, but it’s still not finely tuned. This region is to too far away from the big markets and too inexperienced in how to take innovation globally,” Mr Kelly said.

“Despite all the will in the world, we still need to get better at it.”

Dr Kelly said there are a number of disruptors and wildcards that are changing the face of AgTech in the Asia-Pacific which he will address when he presents to guests at the forum.

The high profile example of this is fast data – processing relatively thin data streams in real-time and causing an action as a result – Dr Kelly said.

“We’re just seeing the very leading edge of this coming through, and like driverless cars, the best is yet to come,” Dr Kelly said.

“This race will not be won by the ‘best’ technologies in terms of performance. It’ll be won by a combination of pragmatism and innovation, along with astute business models. Think Uber for the farm.”

Dr Kelly is one of 12 speakers representing Australian and international businesses, research and venture capitalists who will be taking part in the inaugural 400M AgInnovate Forum.

The Forum is a “fire-starter” event for the convergence of diverse technology solutions and investment to drive the next level of productivity and sustainability for agriculture and has been modelled on similar events held in the United States and Europe.

The forum has been organised by Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise’s (TSBE) Food Leaders Australia (FLA) initiative, in partnership with the University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ) Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, and will be held on Wednesday, 18 May at the Toowoomba City Library.

Interested parties can book-in for the Forum by visiting www.400mForum.com.au. For the latest in the lead up to the event follow FLA on Twitter @FoodLeadersAus and keep an eye out for #400mAg.