STARTUP ECOSYSTEM PRELIMINARY REPORT
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AGTECH & AGWORLD<br />
FARMERS USING AGWORLD GLOBALLY<br />
39,000+<br />
Number of farmers using the Agworld platform<br />
AGRONOMISTS USING AGWORLD<br />
75%<br />
Percentage of Agronomists in Australia using the<br />
Agworld platform.<br />
HECTARES UNDER MANAGEMENT GLOBAL<br />
37M+<br />
Number of hectares of global farmland under<br />
management in Agworld platform.<br />
TOTAL FUNDING RAISED<br />
$12M<br />
Reed Elsevier Ventures<br />
Other (not disclosed)<br />
Yuuwa Capital<br />
Commercialisation Australia<br />
$6M<br />
$4M<br />
$1.5M<br />
$0.75M<br />
COST OF BUILDING AGWORLD PLATFORM<br />
$15M+<br />
Total cost of building in Agworld platform since<br />
2009. Figure includes re-invested revenue.<br />
EMPLOYEES<br />
45+<br />
Total number of employees across 3 offices,<br />
including 20 ruby on rails developers in Perth.<br />
OFFICE LOCATIONS<br />
3<br />
Number of Agworld offices including Perth,<br />
New Zealand and Windsor, Colorado.<br />
ABOUT AGWORLD 105<br />
Agworld, based in West Leederville, Perth,<br />
provides services in Australia, USA, New Zealand<br />
and South Africa with a unique data capture and<br />
data management system connecting all major<br />
players within the agricultural industry.<br />
Using cloud technology, Agworld has created a<br />
communication platform for those involved in crop<br />
production. Agronomist recommendations, crop<br />
production plans, and finance reporting are a few<br />
of the features that can be uploaded and shared<br />
on the Agworld platform. With its hub of data<br />
collaboration, Agworld is arming farmers from<br />
all corners of the ag world with the information<br />
needed to make the most educated decisions.<br />
AgWorld was launched in December 2009 by<br />
Doug Fitch and Chris Ramsey following a year of<br />
market validation and the engagement of software<br />
developer Matthew Powell. They now have 39,000<br />
farms across key markets using the Agworld<br />
platform to inform decision making and improve<br />
farm productivity.<br />
Major clients include international companies such<br />
as Land o’Lakes, Winfield, Bayer, BASF, Crop<br />
Care, Syngenta, and Australian based companies<br />
such as CSBP, Elders and Landmark.<br />
DOUG FITCH, AGWORLD CEO<br />
Agworld is a shining local success story that<br />
highlights real innovation in WA aligned to clear<br />
market needs. CEO Doug Fitch has been involved<br />
and contributed to the agricultural industry for the<br />
past 30 years, and is passionate about the challenge<br />
of feeding the growing global population. In<br />
a recent interview, Doug shared the following<br />
insights:<br />
“Farms in the US receive substantial government<br />
subsidies, have access to abundant water, and great<br />
soil conditions. Here in Australia, farmers have no<br />
access to subsidies, have incredibly challenging<br />
water issues and soil quality is typically poor.<br />
These challenges lead to your average WA farmer<br />
having to ensure they are focused on innovation<br />
and new technology to maximise the efficiencies<br />
of production. WA is the ideal testing ground for<br />
new agricultural technologies. Necessity really is<br />
breeding local innovation.” 105<br />
THE GLOBAL AGTECH REVOLUTION<br />
Global agriculture is in the middle of a digital<br />
revolution. The benefits of converging the digital<br />
and physical worlds are too valuable for Western<br />
Australia to ignore. In the not-so-distant future,<br />
constant connection between people, companies<br />
and products, in real-time, will be the norm. 106<br />
A rising tide of Australian and international reports<br />
have identified advances in agricultural technology<br />
as the key to long-term productivity gains.<br />
According to AgFunder’s AgTech Investing report,<br />
2014 AgTech funding had a record breaking year in<br />
the USA with USD $2.36 billion raised across 264<br />
financing deals. .107<br />
This figure surpassed well-known sectors like<br />
fintech ($2.1 billion) and cleantech ($2 billion) and<br />
was 40% higher than the entire Australian venture<br />
and private equity investments over the same<br />
period across all industries. 2015 AgTech funding<br />
is expected to be USD $4.1 billion.<br />
GLOBAL AGTECH FUNDING 2010-2015<br />
Source: AgFunder 2015 Mid Year Report 108 $4.1<br />
Funding ($USD Billions)<br />
Projected Funding<br />
$2.4<br />
$0.4<br />
TOP 10 COUNTRIES FOR AGFUNDING<br />
Source: AgFunder 2015 Mid Year Report 108<br />
United States<br />
$1028m<br />
Israel<br />
$510m<br />
China<br />
$155m<br />
India<br />
$111m<br />
United Kingdom<br />
$85m<br />
Canada<br />
$35m<br />
Sweden<br />
$27m<br />
France<br />
$24m<br />
Germany<br />
$23m<br />
Switzerland<br />
$22m<br />
Notably absent from the AgFunder’s data is<br />
Australia. AgFunder states that “whilst Australia<br />
has a large agriculture industry, we are not seeing<br />
much AgTech activity at all.” 106<br />
INCREASING DEMAND<br />
The global population is projected to reach 9<br />
billion by 2050. The increase in demand for<br />
agricultural produce is expected to rise by 70%,<br />
with the majority of this coming from the emerging<br />
middle class in Asia. Current growth rates in<br />
agriculture are simply not sufficient to meet these<br />
challenges.<br />
CEREAL CROP PRODUCTION (tonnes)<br />
Source: Farming First Green Economy 109<br />
5B<br />
predicted<br />
4B<br />
3B<br />
2B<br />
1B<br />
1961 70 80 90 2000 09 2050<br />
Oceania<br />
Europe<br />
$0.5<br />
$0.5<br />
$0.9<br />
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015<br />
Asia<br />
Latin America<br />
North America<br />
Africa<br />
49
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