AIA, an independent not-for-profit company established by Australia’s rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs), facilitates joint investment and collaboration in cross-sectoral issues.

SparkLabs Cultiv8 is a leading global agriculture and food technology accelerator, and Cultiv8 Funds Management is an early-stage Venture Capital Fund supporting Agri-Food Tech start-ups.

AIA CEO Sam Brown said that the partnership will enable the organisations to collaborate on cross-sectoral agricultural opportunities and challenges, including climate change.

“As our organisations are working in the innovation and investment space, it made sense to join forces. By working together, AIA and Cultiv8 can deliver greater impact to Australian agricultural value chains.

“Our approach to partnerships is to facilitate the sharing and integration of new ideas and concepts that add value to and build on the great work of the RDC system. Bringing different people and organisations to the table, we can harness our collective expertise and unique strengths, to tackle the industry’s biggest challenges together.”

The partnership sees the organisations commit to contributing to the development of joint strategies and action plans to enhance collaboration within the agricultural innovation and investment ecosystem.

This includes leveraging the specialised expertise of each entity to support the discovery, validation and commercialisation of technologies and to facilitate the successful implementation of joint initiatives.

Having recently launched a CleanTech Accelerator program, SparkLabs Cultiv8 Partner Jonathon Quigley said he was excited by the opportunity the partnership would bring to the organisations.

“Our focus is on identifying and commercialising solutions that improve environmental sustainability across the agriculture and food value chain.

“This complements AIA’s current portfolio, which includes several investments in climate and sustainability related initiatives and supports some of the key priorities of their RDC members.”

Sam Brown said AIA is always open to partnering with like-minded organisations.

“At AIA, we live and breathe collaboration. We actively pursue partners who are passionate about developing strategic and enduring collaboration to support a productive, profitable and sustainable agricultural industry in this country.” Interested parties are invited to contact AIA via contact@aginnovationaustralia.com.au

Contact: Sarah Castellanos, Senior Manager - Marketing and Investor Relations scastellanos@aginnovationaustralia.com.au or ph: 0429 988 174