6 agritech companies shortlisted in the National Startup Awards 2018

The national shortlist entrants will have to pitch their businesses live to a national judging panel in Dublin on May 17. Photo: National Startup Awards.

The best and brightest startup companies are recognised at a national level for their dedication, resilience, and perseverance and for contributing so much to the nation’s economy.

Horticulture

9 May 2018

The national shortlist for the National Startup Awards, powered by Bank of Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, has been announced, with 73 companies shortlisted across 13 categories. The competition recognises and rewards Irish startups for their success in business.

A €15,000 prize fund is up for grabs at this year’s awards, with the overall winner set to walk away with a prize of €10,000 and the best early stage startup set to receive €5,000 to further grow and develop their businesses.

A total of 20 companies were shortlisted from Munster, 15 companies were shortlisted from Connacht/Ulster, 27 companies were shortlisted from Dublin and 12 companies were shortlisted from the Rest of Leinster.

In the Agritech category, the shortlisted companies include:

ApisProtect which has created in-hive sensors to unobtrusively monitor honey bee colonies.
Equine MediRecord which has created the first centralised database system that is accessible to private yards, vets and regulators globally in any agricultural sector.
Herdwatch which has created an app to help farmers and farm businesses in Ireland and the UK protect their income by taking the pain out of farm compliance.
Hexafly who are developing new material sources for the Aqua feed, Chitin and Plant Nutrition Industries from the sustainable farming of insects.
Iamus Technologies which is an agricultural robotics company that uses machine learning to turn visual, environmental and biometric bird and farm information into actionable data for poultry producers.
Krupa Holding Ltd which has created a liquid yeast that has become intelligent because of the co-action of quantum dots within the encapsulated fermentation process.

The competition, now in its seventh year, has become a pivotal date in the Irish startup calendar. The best and brightest startup companies are recognised at a national level for their dedication, resilience and perseverance and for contributing so much to the nation’s economy.

The national shortlist entrants will now have to pitch their businesses live to a national judging panel in Dublin in early May and the national awards will take place in Dublin on Thursday, 17th May, 2018. A full list of national finalists can be seen on www.startupawards.ie.

Joe Healy, divisional manager, HPSU at Enterprise Ireland said: “Enterprise Ireland has partnered with the National Startup Awards to give businesses with global ambition the opportunity to be catapulted onto a national stage at a crucial time in their progression and development. We offer a comprehensive range of supports, including funding, mentoring and hands-on support to accelerate the growth of these start-ups in international markets. I would like to wish all the start-ups that have been shortlisted the very best of luck.”

Bank of Ireland’s head of Open Enterprise and Innovation, David Tighe commented: “We are delighted to be involved in powering the National Startup Awards in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland. Bank of Ireland is strongly committed to developing a supportive environment in which entrepreneurs can survive, thrive and prosper. We have been very pleased with the standard of entries this year and I know the national judging panel have a very difficult job in choosing the winners for the awards.”

Founder Startups.ie, Stephen Dillon added: “A big congratulations to all the companies that have made it to this stage of the competition. Starting a new business takes a huge amount of courage and hard work. The first few years can be really challenging and the National Startup Awards are here to support entrepreneurs who are investing so much of themselves to build businesses that will ultimately create employment and benefit the broader economy.”

For more information about the awards please visit: www.startups.ie.

Startup Awards 2018 categories

Category Prizes