Sandhya Sriram will join the agritech investment fund in September.
Sandhya Sriram.
Sprout Agritech has appointed Dr Sandhya Sriram as its new CEO, replacing Israeli Gil Meron who after three years is moving into a new role focused on investment and science solutions.
Sriram is the former group CEO and co-founder of Shiok Meats in Singapore, the first cultivated seafood and meat company in Southeast Asia, which she made a successful exit from via a merger.
A former stem cell biologist and scientist, Sriram has a deep background in the global early-stage tech industry as a business development professional, serial entrepreneur and angel investor.
She was named as part of the 2021 class of Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts, has featured in Time magazine and Forbes Women in Tech.
“I’m excited to join Sprout Agritech and immerse myself into the deep tech landscape in New Zealand after spending more than 15 years in Southeast Asia. I am looking forward to bringing Asia, New Zealand and the rest of the world together, alongside growing the Sprout portfolio and establishing a global presence.”
Established in 2015 as the Sprout Accelerator, Sprout Agritech was set up in 2020 and established an early-stage investment fund of up to $40 million with partners US-based Finister Ventures, Kiwi dairy giant Fonterra and Israeli venture builder Our Crowd. It is one of the five partners in Callaghan Innovation’s deep tech incubator programme.
Its has made eight investments to date with the latest being into Auckland startup Metrovate which is developing a platform technology to help farmers stimulate their plant growth and improve immunity.
Sprout chair Marcel van den Assum said he was pleased to attract global talent to enhance the local deep tech ecosystem which is fundamental to growing our presence in offshore markets and with investors.
Sriram takes up the role in September based in Palmerston North.
