By Simin Yang, Project Coordinator - Innovation & Entrepreneurship
In the aim of introducing Swiss AgriTech and FoodTech startups to the China market, Swissnex in China and Innosuisse has organized the China Agri-Food-Tech Bootcamp 2021. The program provides tailored support to participating startups via virtual workshops, exclusive pitch sessions to investors, IP & regulation consulting, as well as market research reporting, connecting them with investors, industry experts and potential partners while maximizing their exposure to a broad audience in China.
Seven startups are selected to join the bootcamp based on evaluation of their market potential in China: AgroSustain, aikemy, Cormo, Embion Technologies, Nectariss, SUIND and SwissDeCode.
From March 22 to 31, the startups joined a series of intensive training and consulting workshop sessions with speakers from investment platform, food tech VC, law firm, online marketplace, innovation platform and corporation. Topics including China’s agriculture industry, Agri-food tech investment trend in China, legal guidelines for doing business in China, the impact of e-commerce on Chinese Agri-Food industry, tips for overseas startups to enter to the China market and China’s innovation. Great appreciation to our workshop partners who have provided valuable insights into the fast-growing Agri-Food scene in China: 8 Hours Ahead, Bits x Bites, Rui Bai Law Firm, Pinduoduo, Plug and Play China and Bühler Group.
Snapshot of the workshop scene
On April 22, as part of the bootcamp, the seven participating startups pitched their projects virtually at the Swiss Agri-Food-Tech Startups Demo Day with investors, mentors, experts, potential business partners and highly engaged audiences.
After opening talk from Dr. Felix Moesner, Science Consul & CEO, Swissnex in China and Liang Jieyi, Chairman, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Henan Sub-council, we have invited keynote speakers Ocean Zhou, City Innovation Platform Director, Plug and Play China to present on policy opportunities for startups to enter the China market, and Dr. Fabian Wahl, Head of Strategic Research Division and Member of the Executive Board of Agroscope to give an overview of the Swiss AgroFood Innovation Ecosystem with a focus on sustainable food.
Swiss Agro-Food Innovation Ecosystem
By Dr. Fabian Wahl, Head of Strategic Research Division and Member of the Executive Board of Agroscope
During the pitching sessions, the startups presented their products and cutting-edge solutions including biological plant protection, real-time analytics of food and materials, sustainable raw materials, plant-based nutrition technologies, natural flavors, safety and autonomy solutions for drones and DNA detection for food quality and authentication.
Snapshot of Online Demo day
After the presentations, the startups exchanged with our expert panel of Wilfred Feng, Senior Counsel, Dentons, Li Li, Investment Director, BASF Venture Capital, and Steven Zhang, Director of Strategy, Agriculture & Food Vertical, Plug and Play China around product validation, technical advantages, market potential, legal perspectives and etc.
Snapshot of Online Demo day
The demo day has been broadcasted via three channels of Zoom, Yike and Bilibili with a total viewership of 39,000+. We are glad to receive positive feedback below from the startups, the expert panel and the audiences.
“Very impressed by your panel event yesterday, we will have a look at the market potential for the other attending companies and come back to you.”
– Sam Priestman, 8 Hours Ahead.
“Thank you very much for organizing this event! We much appreciated your dedication and professionalism to make everything work well and to choose and instruct good people for the Q&A part. It was a very positive experience for us and we are looking forward to any contact that may develop as a result of our presentation.”
–Stefan Grass, CEO of Cormo AG
“I will be following this up in the next few weeks to sort out a business plan.”
—Steven Zhang, PnP China.
For the seven startups, this is only a start of their China journey. In the upcoming months, Swissnex in China will continue to support them in their market exploration in China. When international business travel resumes, the participating startups are also encouraged to travel to China to further develop and implement their local market entry.
Please find a link to the startup brochure and demo day recording below: