Winetech and the South African Innovation Summit have extended the deadline for the Winetech Pitching Den entries to June 28.
This is to enable more entrepreneurs to compete and showcase their agritech innovations to the South African wine industry.
The Winetech Pitching Den aims to attract agritech start-ups developing innovative solutions to issues confronting wine producers.
The winners of the Winetech Pitching Den will receive exposure to more than 650 representatives from the local wine industry, providing them with opportunities to transfer their innovations to market, together with investment opportunities and incubation to assist in establishing their businesses.
Finalists will go through to the Winetech Pitching Den where they will pitch their start-ups to a panel of judges at the yearly South African Innovation Summit, to be held in Cape Town from September 11 to 13.
Additionally, winners gain automatic entry to the Africa Cup, also taking place at the South African Innovation Summit, where a total of R8.5-million in investment funding is made available for the top three entrepreneurs.
The Winetech Pitching Den is looking for disruptive, innovative, cost-effective and practical solutions for reducing the wine industry’s impact on the environment, as well as pioneering ways to use technology to rethink production methods and encourage stable growth for small and large industry participants.
It will focus on climate change; water reclamation and resourcing; genetics; machine learning, artificial intelligence and big data; and any other areas that increase efficiency, profitability and environmental sustainability.
By connecting industry-ready innovations with wine producers, Winetech aims to boost the industry and help build a sector robust enough to withstand volatile economic and environmental climates.