2019: Helping scale New Zealand’s agritech sector globally
2019: Kiwi AgriTech takes centre stage
Over the past three years, Wharf42 has established significant partnerships to support and accelerate the growth of New Zealand’s rapidly emerging AgriTech ecosystem.
In Silicon Valley, we are a Plug and Play Tech Center International Partner and a Global Outreach Partner of Silicon Valley Forum. We host the Wharf42 Meteoroid Program at the Plug and Play offices in Sunnyvale, CA.
In New Zealand, we support the commercialisation of complex research and IP from our Universities, Crown Research Institutes & the private sector, via WNT Ventures. A co-founder of WNT, we work with our Silicon Valley networks to provide some of the key global connectivity that will be necessary to scale and accelerate WNT’s investment opportunities.
In 2016, we initiated the first Silicon Valley AgTech Immersion Program & Conference with our Valley partner, Silicon Valley Forum. With our extensive contacts within the Silicon Valley AgTech start-up and investor ecosystem, we support New Zealand’s growing AgriTech community connect and engage with both its Valley and wider North America market peers.
In April last year, we once again supported a large group of Kiwi AgTech participants take part in the 2017 Silicon Valley AgTech Immersion Program and Conference. Today, we are working with Silicon Valley Forum, NZTE & Callaghan Innovation to co-organise the 2018 Silicon Valley AgTech Immersion Program & Conference which takes place in August this year.
In May 2017, we hosted Farming2020, the signature 3-day AgriTech event for Techweek17. This year, Wharf42 hosted Techweek18’s headline agritech conference, ’10 billion mouths’ where we brought over a large delegation of US venture capital firms and agribusinesses focused on the AgriTech space.
2019: The year when New Zealand’s AgriTech sector takes centre stage.
Wharf42 is a co-founder of WNT Ventures, a leading New Zealand tech-focused incubator
Wharf42 is a Plug and Play Tech Center International Partner. Plug and Play is the largest business incubator in Silicon Valley
Wharf42’s Meteoroid Program, supporting early stage Kiwi tech companies connect with Silicon Valley, is hosted at Plug and Play
Wharf42 is a Global Outreach Partner of Silicon Valley Forum. Silicon Valley Forum is the oldest and largest entrepreneur and investor network in the San Francisco Bay area.
In May 2018, Wharf42 hosted 10 billion mouths, enabling the New Zealand AgTech sector to take centre stage at Techweek18.
2018 has seen Wharf42 take on the leadership role at Agritech New Zealand, the organisation representing New Zealand’s agritech ecosystem
Recent Wharf42 Blog Posts
Disruption sometimes hurts. How can NZ agribusiness engage?
I am writing this (depressing / optimistic post depending on your point of view) wearing my Wharf42 investment hat. As a co-founder and limited partner in WNT Ventures, I know something about disruption. When you look at some of WNT’s [...]
Building a collaborative New Zealand agritech framework with the UK
Less than 24 hours ago, the UK Parliament rejected Theresa May’s Brexit ‘deal’ with the European Union. A few hours later, I sat down with Laura Clarke, the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, to discuss opportunities to develop long-term [...]
5 things to look out for from New Zealand agritech during 2019
As we settle back into our desks and dust the sand off our jandals, these are 5 things to look out for from New Zealand’s agritech sector in 2019. The ongoing development of Agritech New Zealand. In October, a workshop [...]
The 2018 Agritech New Zealand roadshow has landed in the South Island!
The 2018 Agritech New Zealand roadshow has landed in the South Island and over the next week the team will be hosting events in Nelson, Lincoln & Dunedin. If you want to attend and learn more about some of the [...]
Join the Emerging Futures Summit webinar on Food this Wednesday
I’m delighted to be joining Toni Laming, CEO of Blinc Innovation & Grant Bennett, Lecturer in Microbiology and Food Safety at ARA Institute of Canterbury, for Wednesday’s Emerging Futures Summit webinar on Food. Organised by New Zealand Education, the Emerging [...]
The next big global agritech opportunity.
It’s a question I was asked last week. Three times. It was essentially this. If New Zealand’s agritech sector had $100M of connected capital to invest in the next big global agritech opportunity, what would it be? It’s a great [...]