Singapore will hear from 10 female agrifoodtech entrepreneurs at the Women Founders & Funders Singapore 2024 pitch night next Wednesday, 20 November, having selected successful applicants from across the Asia-Pacific region and the UK, including four Australian women.
This will be the third annual FTW Ventures’ Women Founders and Funders Singapore, complementing the annual San Francisco event of the same name. The pitch night has become a go-to networking opportunity for members of the agrifoodtech community attending Singapore International Agri-Food Week (SIAW).
The 2024 Singapore cohort features 10 founders pioneering breakthrough technologies and products. The selected applicants were chosen based on product innovation, commercial viability, traction and climate impact potential. Their solutions in key areas include advanced biomaterials, crop and yield optimisation, and sustainable packaging.
Partner organisations are involved in scoring the founder applications, providing mentorship and fostering connections leading up to the event and in the future. Joining FTW Ventures are strategic partners Better Earth Ventures, MarTech Collective and Tomorrow Studio Ventures, program partners Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development WA, Thai Wah Ventures, Louis Dreyfus, Gullspang Re:Food, Morrison & Foerster with ecosystem support from SGInnovate, Enterprise Singapore, Tenacious Ventures and AgFunder.
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development WA (DPIRD) business development manager agrifood-tech & TradeStart advisor, Simon Tarmo, said the organisation was proud to be supporting this initiative, supporting women founders alongside the other partners who are driving meaningful change.
“The purpose of Women Founders and Funders is to spotlight agrifoodtech entrepreneurs who
are facilitating progress to feed the world’s growing population via innovative and sustainable solutions while navigating the challenges in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Tarmo.
The selected founders are:
- Grace Ma (Singapore): MPW Technologies International leads in integrating greentech and precision engineering into agriculture, combining wavelength-optimized solar energy with efficient growing practices.
- Safia Qureshi (UK): CLUBZERØ is an AI-powered returnable packaging system offering a scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective alternative to single-use packaging in FMCG, Retail, Food Service, and QSR industries.
- Kai-Ning Chua (Singapore): Insectta uses patented technology to extract high-value biomaterials—Chitosan and Eumelanin—from black soldier flies, providing a sustainable source for pharmaceuticals, wellness, and organic electronics while advancing the insect industry.
- Victoria Outram (UK): New Wave Biotech helps biomanufacturing innovators to design better and scale smarter with their AI Bioprocess Intelligence Software.
- Fiona Donaghey (Australia): Earthodic’s proprietary bio-based coatings provide key barrier properties for paper packaging and are 100% bio-based and recyclable.
- Sheryl Frame (Australia): Liquim is a R&D company developing novel, plant-based products aimed at protecting people and the planet.
- Sofie De Meyer (Australia): MALDIID specialises in R&D services for biological products like biofertilizers, biostimulants, and biopesticides, offering lab, glasshouse, and field trial support.
- Christiana Zhu (China): Marvelous Foods is a plant-based snack foods start-up for the Chinese market.
- Cara Cooper (Australia): Calyx’s AI platform provides real-time sustainability insights, measuring the environmental impact of food products at the ingredient level for industry leaders. Check out the video series Food & Drink Business created in partnership with Calyx to learn more about its capabilities and impact on Australian businesses.
- Mandy Hon (Singapore): ImpacFat’s Stem-Cell technology creates omega-3-rich fish fat for sustainable food, cosmetics, and supplements.
