Taronga Conservation Society Australia has unveiled the six start-ups that will be joining the Hatch: Taronga Accelerator Program (Hatch) in 2024.
The chosen start-ups are The Groundswell Collective – Tiny Forests, Medical Pantry, ZeroTag, Circular PV Alliance, Woop Woop for Nature, and Pledge for the Planet.
The chosen start-ups will take part in intensive masterclasses and workshops over 14 weeks. They will also have access to Taronga’s extensive network of mentors and experts to develop their enterprises, investor training and pitch readiness.
The program will conclude with a competitive pitch night, with the winning team receiving the $50,000 Hatch Grant (last year’s winner, Dr Alexandra Carthey of Rehabitat, is pictured here with Cameron Kerr AO, Taronga Conservation Society Australia CEO) and an opportunity for teams to win the additional $5000 People’s Choice Award.
Hatch is the world’s only accelerator program that is led by a conservation zoo and is designed to help ecopreneurs take their idea from vision to reality, and support innovators who are tackling some of the most pressing environmental and conservation challenges currently facing our planet.
“I am so excited to welcome the founders to Taronga’s 2024 Hatch Accelerator Program, each of these start-ups are focused on finding solutions to some of the most pressing environmental and conservation challenges currently facing our planet – from the way we manage waste across different industries, addressing needs around sustainability and regeneration, to supporting greater biodiversity,” Kerr said.
“Through Hatch, we have nurtured the nation’s most innovative minds and provided the support to bring those ideas to life,” Kerr added. “I look forward to following the journeys of this year’s founders as they continue to develop their start-ups and go from strength to strength. Their success will be to the benefit of all.”
CEO and Founder of Woop Woop for Nature Elisa Raulings said that being chosen as one of the participants in the accelerator program showed that finance is now flowing to the environmental sector.
“[However], if we’re serious about tackling biodiversity loss, then we need to rapidly scale our ability to take on-ground practical action,” Raulings warned. “Woop Woop for Nature is proud to join Taronga’s 2024 Hatch cohort to combine ecological expertise with new ways of thinking, supporting rapid scale for people and nature.”
A key partner of Hatch, CEO and Founder of investment company BridgeLane Markus Kahlbetzer said that Taronga’s program plays a critical role in helping to foster early conservation projects.
“It’s a unique program that has facilitated many past projects, and has helped to build a strong founder alumni network,” Kahlbetzer said. “This year’s cohort is particularly unique in its mix of social enterprise and not-for-profit projects and BridgeLane looks forward to seeing their progress over the coming months.”
Taronga has been acknowledged as a leader in identifying and supporting innovative conservation ideas for more than a decade. Among the programs that it launched include the Taronga Green Grant, which was first launched in 2011 and eventually evolved into the Hatch: Taronga Accelerator Program. Over four years since its launch, Hatch has granted $199,000 in funding and has connected 17 teams with more than 95 mentors and subject matter experts. Past Hatch initiatives include edible coffee cups Good-Edi and Xylo Systems, a cloud-based platform that uses AI for tracking and managing conservation programs.
Hatch will commence on 19 March, culminating in a pitch event on 19 June.
