| Danial Norjidi |
AGROME IQ International Sdn Bhd, the local startup selected to participate at Pitch@Palace Commonwealth is looking to put Bruneian startups on the map and show they can be competitive in the global market.
Vanessa Teo, the founder and CEO of Agrome IQ International Sdn Bhd, shared this in an interview with the Bulletin.
Pitch@Palace Commonwealth is a platform that provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs and early stage businesses from each of the 53 Commonwealth countries to pitch to CEOs, influencers, mentors and potential investors and business partners.
Speaking on how their participation in Pitch@Palace Commonwealth came about, Vanessa shared, “We are part of the iCentre Incubator supported by DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) and I was encouraged to take part and apply. As a startup it is important to apply for competitions to ensure we receive market validation and exposure to our countries that may be interested in our solutions.
On being the first company from Brunei Darussalam selected for the event, she said, “We are very honoured to be the only selected company for this competition and to have the chance to pitch to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, influential entrepreneurs and stakeholders.
“This means a lot to us because we want to put Bruneian startups on the map and to highlight that we can be competitive in the global market.”
Asked what her aims are for Pitch@Palace Commonwealth, she said, “We hope to highlight the innovative solutions developed by our startup Agrome IQ and the potential impact it can have on food security for Asean and beyond.
“We hope to gain strategic partnerships and investments to help us grow our startup and access new markets. Before, the actual competition, we will be hosted in Facebook Headquarters in London to undergo mentoring and training to perfect our pitch.”
Pitch@Palace Commonwealth will take place at St James’ Palace in London on April 16 as part of the Commonwealth Summit.
The winner and runners up will be selected by the Audience vote. All participating entrepreneurs will also take part in the Pitch@Palace People’s Choice Award, for which the winner will also be named on April 16, as voted for by the public. Voting is already open at http://peopleschoice.pitchatpalace.com/event/pitch-at-palace-commonwealth-1-0.
“We would like to ask all public to vote for us to win for the Pitch@Palace Commonwealth as a Bruneian business and to support the initiative to help our farmers,” Vanessa said.
Agrome IQ is an agriculture business intelligence platform that aims to provide farmers with the information they need to make effective decisions on farm management and business process. The startup now has a team of 10 who are all locals.
Vanessa shared that Agrome IQ is currently working to develop more urban farms in the nation by selling their own premium farm starter kit, which she explained is a semi-automated farm system where they provide clients memberships to support them with their journey.
“Also, we are developing our agricultural technology educational curriculum as we support Brunei Vision 2035 to help in developing a new generation of skilled individuals with entrepreneurial mindset.”
She also noted that they will be hosting a farmer’s market for their growing community in May during Bandarku Ceria.
On what is next for Agrome IQ going forward, she said, “We hope to provide the regional market with agricultural solutions and to provide more quality produce for all consumers. Additionally, we are developing our smart farming IoT system in collaboration with Singaporean firms.”
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