Hort Innovation Frontiers, in partnership with Startupbootcamp and Cluster Connect, has announced the launch of a new program designed to drive innovation to tackle the most pressing challenges in horticulture.
The Australian-Grown Innovation program, available to Australian growers and those across the horticulture supply chain, will accelerate grower-led innovation through three stages of mentorship. The aim is to turn great ideas into commercially viable products and services that make a real difference on the ground.
Running over the next five years, the program will take cohorts through three stages of mentorship, aiming to unlock transformative opportunities and deliver practical solutions to real industry challenges – things like climate resilience strategies, value-added product innovation, technology-driven solutions harnessing AI, and supply chain improvements to improve productivity.
All solutions created will meet one of the five overarching Hort Frontiers themes: healthy living, adaptation and resilience, market access, disruptive technologies and capability building.
The program’s three stages of mentoring are:
Engage: Local workshops for growers and supply chain participants around innovation in horticulture, where they will gain insights and a practical toolkit from industry peers with lived innovation experience. This stage is open to all horticulture sector participants.
Incubate: a cohort of 10 will be selected and participate in a six-week incubation program offering hands-on support via workshops and mentoring to refine, test and create market viable opportunities. Participants will also learn about global best practice in their areas of innovation.
Build: a 12-week program will then offer participants an opportunity to develop a test version of their idea and trial it in a real-world market environment. Selected participants may also take part in a global immersion experience, where they explore partnership opportunities, participate in site visits, learn international best practices, connect with global experts, and learn from leading innovators to help scale their idea.
Can I apply?
The program is open to all growers, producers, entrepreneurs and businesses across the horticulture supply chain who want to develop or refine problem-solving ideas and turn them into real-world products or services. It’s a chance to bring innovation into your day-to-day businesses and de-risk the associated investment.
Find out more and register your interest here.
