Gastrotope, the agrifood tech accelerator founded by Taizo Son’s Mistletoe, Rajesh Sawhney, and Infobridge, today announced that it has signed an agreement with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to create a world-leading ‘Farm to Fork’ ecosystem inVisakhapatnam (Vizag). Today’s announcement follows the inauguration last month of Gastrotope’s incubator office in Vizag by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Sri N. Chandrababu Naidu.Sri Nara Lokesh, Minister of IT was also present at the occasion.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two partners will collaborate to provide the necessary infrastructure such as test fields for agriculture, incubation space and an acceleration program. The program aims to facilitate and nurture startups in agri-tech and food-tech spaces in Andhra Pradesh and India.AP Innovation Society will be coordinating and facilitating this project from government side.
The accelerator program under this initiative is now accepting applications for the first batch. The program is aiming to accept up to 10 startups in 2018 and the two partners have set a budget of INR 50 million (5 crore) to invest in each of them.
Gastrotope cofounder Rajesh Sawhneysaid, “Our vision to create the world’s leading ‘Farm to Fork’ tech ecosystem right within India and this partnership marks an important milestone in this direction. Andhra Pradesh is among the most progressive states in India with a forward looking leadership; which recognizes the potential of technology-enabled innovation in agriculture and food economy. We are thrilled to join hands with the state government and aim to co-invent the future of India’s food economy.”
AP Innovation Society CEO Prof. V. Valli Kumarisaid, “We are extremely happy to Partner with Gastrotope in building our startup ecosystem in the Agri context.”
Gastrotope is a focused accelerator that aims on bridging the gap between the farms and the food tech industry. Gastrotope envisions on catalyzing new innovations in the food tech sector of the country. It aims on investing in startups that would add to the “Farm to Fork” ecosystem. These startups would add value at various parts of the value chain, starting with farmers and moving to food transportation, processing and delivery to and consumption by customers.
“India has a rich food culture and our aim is to nurture and grow India’s farm economy. Our aim is to create a relevant and sustainable business that will benefit the farmers and consumers,” Rajesh added.
Gastrotope was set up in 2017 with an aim to create a Farm to Fork tech ecosystem. It aims leapfrog innovation from India and expand these activities globally.