The government of Western Australia announced Friday the first cohort of six early-stage nature tech startups that will receive seed capital and expert support to scale their businesses under a newly launched accelerator programme.
Backed by a A$7.2 million ($4.9 mln) investment from the regional government, the Nature Tech Accelerator will run for three years, and provide each startup with A$50,000 in funding.
Selected firms will also be involved in a four-month support programme across product development, strategy and operations, commercialisation, data science, partnerships, and fundraising, developed in collaboration with global startup accelerator Founders Factory.
Announced earlier this year, the Nature Tech Accelerator aims to help develop and scale solutions across six key focus areas – reforestation and protection, land management, regenerative agriculture, water and coastal regions, sustainable infrastructure, and the circular economy.
“Western Australia has a thriving nature-based innovation sector, and I’m pleased that local projects will be able to access a global network of investors and experts, without leaving the state,” said Innovation and Digital Economy Minister Stephen Dawson.
SELECTED COMPANIES
The six companies chosen cover a wide range of fields. SeaStock, for example, aims to advance the production and extraction of compounds derived from seaweed.
OceanHex develops kelp reforestation technologies, while Agra intends to produce sustainable crops at the same price as traditional field agriculture.
Nitronic, meanwhile, focuses on sustainable nitrogen fertiliser production through non-thermal plasma technology.
X-Centric seeks to create innovative soil testing tools, while First Nation’s owned and led business Call to Country enables organisations to embed indigenous knowledge into their core operations.
“Supporting unique nature startups to expand and thrive on a global scale is key to our government’s goal of diversifying and decarbonising the state’s economy,” said Dawson.
Although financing for nature tech companies has increased significantly over the last few years, especially in the monitoring field, there are still insufficient funds for all the firms seeking to enter the space.
Recently, some initiatives have emerged to support early-stage startups in Australia, including investment and advisory firm Pollination launching a venture capital fund in June to drive investment into climate and nature tech companies.
The fund will make investments within the range of A$4-12 mln in companies at Series A or Series B stage, offering investors a ten-year term, and five-year investment period.
Last year, Australian agri-food tech investor Sparklabs Cultiv8 committed funding to the Cleantech Accelerator to support 10 carbon and climate-focused startups across the country.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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