KOAT to Hold 'Agri-Food Startup Contest' Awards Ceremony on the 25th, Aiming to Foster "Future Leaders of the Agri-Food Industry"

[SEJONG=Newsis] The Korea Agricultural Technology Promotion Agency (KOAT) announced on the 22nd that it will hold the finals and awards ceremony for the '2025 Agri-Food Startup Contest' on the 25th at the Charlotte Hall of the Lotte R&D Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

This year's contest saw a record-breaking 570 teams apply, making it the most competitive to date. After preliminary and main rounds, a final 10 startups will take the stage for the finals.

In the finals, a total of 10 awards and 1.2 billion won in prize money will be distributed based on a comprehensive evaluation of technology, marketability, business potential, and contribution to the agri-food industry. The prizes include one Presidential Award (Grand Prize), one Prime Minister's Award (First Prize), two Excellence Awards, one Special Award (Agri-Industry Youth Frontier Award), and five Encouragement Awards.

The companies that have advanced to the finals are:

• Future Sense (Team: Food4Chain, CEO: An Da-mi)

• Signal Care (Team: Signal Care, CEO: Yang Dong-seop)

• Re:Harvest (Team: Chusu Again, CEO: Alexander Myung-joon Min)

• Dareum Daleum (Team: Dareum Daleum Research Institute, CEO: Lee Sang-hyun)

• IoCrops (Team: Great Agreator, CEO: Cho Jin-hyung)

• Solbum (Team: Ecorica, CEO: Shin Taek-soo)

• Y.Pet (Team: Y.Pet Safe Team, CEO: Jin Seung-woo)

• Deep.Plant (Team: Deep-aging, CEO: Kim Cheol-beom)

• Topo Lab (Team: Daemabulsa, CEO: Kim Hyeok)

• Wizfarm (Team: Pocket Cow, CEO: Yeom Geon-ung)

Over the past five months, KOAT has run practical competency-building programs for the final teams, including expert mentoring, investor consultations, and support for exhibition participation at fairs.

Startup experts, including venture capitalists (VCs), participated as mentors to provide support for business strategy enhancement, investment linkage, and global expansion.

The Lotte R&D Center will be exploring open innovation collaboration opportunities with the participating teams, while Nonghyup and the Korea Racing Authority will also present prize money and sponsor awards. Private companies such as CJ CheilJedang, LS Mtron, and GS Retail are also participating as sponsors, expanding the possibilities for collaboration with the startups.

At the finals, each team will showcase their business performance and innovation through a 7-minute presentation and an 8-minute Q&A session. The final ranking will be determined by combining scores from expert judges, a mock investment by investors, and a public evaluation panel.

The event will also feature promotional booths for the final teams, an exhibition on the contest's history, and interactive events for attendees. The awards ceremony will be held with an audience of about 300 people and will be live-streamed on the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' YouTube channel, 'NongleowaTV.'

Meanwhile, an 'Online Popularity Award' vote is currently underway on the official Instagram and YouTube channels, with prizes for participants. Anyone can attend the finals and awards ceremony in person by pre-registering through the online platform Event-us.

Ahn Ho-geun, President of KOAT, stated, "This year's 10 final teams are showcasing new possibilities for the agri-food industry in diverse fields like food tech, ag-tech, eco-friendly upcycling, and pet healthcare. I look forward to seeing the participants, who have grown even more through months of competency-building, leap forward as the future leaders of the agri-food industry on the final stage."

Source: Sympathetic Media Newsis / lighton@newsis.com