Future Food Asia Award – Meet the 8 Finalists for the US$ 100,000 Prize

With a rising middle class, changing food consumption patterns, and land scarcity, we need new solutions to improve food productivity sustainably. The Future Food Asia event will showcase the top eight startups from across Asia Pacific which are creating solutions to tackle issues present and predicted in the food industry. It will also host panel discussions on investing in foodtech and agritech as well as on innovation in the food value chain. Organized by ID Capital, and supported by the Economic Development Board of Singapore and leader Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), Future Food Asia will be the region’s first-of-its-kind to bring together a community of investors, corporates, governments, academics and entrepreneurs.

Future Food Asia is born out of the belief that challenges facing agriculture are often region- specific, and thus, the best minds to tackle these problems can be found within local teams. Startup applications for the innovation award began in January and closed on April 5, 2017. There was an overwhelming response, with startups from 19 different countries applying. This highlights the relevance of a regional platform that can give critical mass to this growing industry vertical. All applicants will benefit from the platform as it connects startups with investors and multinational companies on an ongoing basis. The winning startup will receive a grant of USD 100,000.

The selection of the final eight was done by a jury panel consisting of four highly experienced and yet diversified jury members. The panel had Gérard Jacquin a retired Director of Partnerships, Transfer and Innovation at INRA, Europe’s leading agricultural research institute; Dr. Ralph Graichen the Director of Food and Nutrition at A*STAR’s Biomedical Research Council; Victoria de la Huerga the Vice President of ADM Ventures, Archer Daniels Midland Company; and Isabelle Decitre the Founder and CEO of ID Capital.

Isabelle Decitre said: “The jury had the tough task of shortlisting eight finalists amongst an extremely strong talent pool. Startups in the region were addressing both issues specific to Asia Pacific as well as tackling some perennial global issues. The diversity of the applicants, both in terms of country of provenance, professional background and typology of innovation, confirmed the need for a platform for agritech and foodtech entrepreneurs in the region. Not only does the platform startups connect among themselves, but also to form strategic partnerships with the larger corporate and financial community that can help propel their growth. We believe that our platform can significantly contribute in the development of the essential ecosystem for agriculture and food technologies to flourish in the region.”

“These semifinalists offer an array of innovative solutions to the challenges we all face in feeding a growing global population,” said Ian Pinner, Archer Daniels Midland Company’s President for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and Global Destination Marketing. “The way food is grown, distributed and developed is evolving with different regional food cultures and the demand for healthier, higher nutrition diets. ADM is proud to be part of discovering new innovations to address our future food challenges here in Asia Pacific by sponsoring this important competition and supporting the innovators who are spearheading these important changes.”

The event will be hosted on 26th May 2017 at Tanglin Club in Singapore. Registrations are open on www.futurefoodasia.com.