The company developed SmartWorm, which is a mobile app using in-house developed, proprietary advanced algorithms that consider a range of physiological and environmental factors to allow farmers to assess individual animals and predict if they require an anti-parasitic treatment, or not, in real time.
CEO and co-founder of Cotter Agritech, Nick Cotter, said that success at the awards give the company huge validation. “We’re in the middle of trying to raise a €450,000 seed round, so in terms of closing that round, this will really accelerate that. It gives us huge credibility and the process of the competition has been hugely beneficial in terms of refining our pitch and our story that we’re trying to tell. It’s now resonating with investors. It’s been fundamental to our progress to date and it’s going to be a launch pad for us to go and raise that investment round and achieve the ambitions we set out to achieve. We’re deploying our product in Australia and New Zealand next year, so our aim is to deliver to farmers there and increase their profitability by up to 20 per cent.”
The Seedcorn competition aims to improve the investor readiness of innovative new-start and early-stage businesses across the island. As well as a substantial prize fund of €300,000, participants in the competition benefit from feedback at all stages, access to business planning workshops, unique networking opportunities and access to angel investors, and mentorship support throughout the competition.