AgTechUCD has announced the seven start-ups which have been selected for its fourth accelerator programme dedicated to early-stage start-ups in the AgTech and Agrifood sectors.
The participating start-ups are Aerial AG Ireland (Dublin), Auto Coupler (Co. Kilkenny), Evogen (Dublin), IONA Minerals (Anglesey, Wales), RoboCrop (Co. Kildare), Weighless Wonders (Dublin) and Zirkulu (Co. Cork).
The 2024 AgTechUCD Agccelerator Programme, which has just commenced, is an intensive 12-week hybrid programme, tailored to address the particular needs and challenges facing AgTech and Agrifood start-ups. The programme is focused on fast tracking the business development and leadership skills of participants and on providing them with the support and guidance needed to accelerate the growth and development of their start-ups.
The programme includes dedicated business development workshops and investor readiness training, mentoring from industry experts and business advisors, guest speakers and facilitated introductions to AgTechUCD’s venture capital and business angel networks.
The in-person workshops will take place in the AgTechUCD Innovation Centre at UCD Lyons Farm in Co. Kildare.
Gary Ryan, Director, AgTechUCD, said,
“During the next 12 weeks, we will be focused on supporting the commercial development and growth of the participating start-ups as they develop their ag and food tech-related businesses with national and international potential. The focus on solutions delivering improved sustainability, efficiency and profitability in the agfood value chain is welcome and is very much in line with the overall focus of AgTechUCD. During the programme we will also be working with this year’s cohort to help them to increase their profile, to attract customers and investors, and to forge new partnerships at home and further afield.”
Twenty-seven (27) start-ups, including MyGug and Proveye, have completed the three AgTechUCD Agccelerator programmes delivered to date.
Since completing the 2022 programme, MyGug, a West Cork-based company which is at the forefront of innovation in food waste management, has secured €900k in funding and was named the winner of the Sustainability Award at the 2023 Irish Times Innovation Awards.
Since completing the 2021 programme, Proveye, a UCD spin-out headquartered at NovaUCD and a leader in remote sensing image analysis for agriculture, has secured €1 million in seed funding. The company was also recently name as one of the 15 start-ups, chosen from over 800 applications, for the 2024 AWS Clean Energy Accelerator 4.0 programme, Generative AI Energy Lab edition.
AgTechUCD, which is part of NovaUCD, is focused on promoting and accelerating the launch and scaling of start-ups and SMEs, in Ireland and internationally, with disruptive innovations in the agtech, agri-food and vettech sectors, as they build their innovative businesses into leading job-creating companies on the global stage.
AgTechUCD, funded through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland, supports founding entrepreneurs as they build their innovative businesses into leading enterprises, through the AgTechUCD Agccelerator Programme, and by providing access to incubation offices and labs and preferred access to on-farm testing for new products and services at UCD Lyons Farm.
The fourth AgTechUCD Agccelerator Programme will conclude in January 2025 when participating start-ups will pitch their businesses to a panel of investors.
Programme partners include AIB, Carbery, Enterprise Ireland, Herdwatch, IFAC, The Yield Lab and Thrive/SVG Ventures.