Advice from UK agri-tech for Innovate UK global funding applicants

There is a huge opportunity for UK agri-tech SMEs to grow in international markets.

Innovate UK has multiple funded opportunities available in 2026 for high-potential agri-tech SMEs to explore and validate priority overseas markets through its Global Business Innovation Programmes (GBIPs) and Global Incubator Programmes (GIPs).

The GBIP and GIP programmes are designed to reduce the risk and cost of internationalisation, combining structured in-market activity and follow-on support by helping businesses build partnerships, test product-market fit and strengthen their route to growth.

Discover more about these opportunities

A webinar held on 9 April 2026 outlined the current and upcoming opportunities for UK agri-tech businesses to explore international markets in 2026. Caroline Wellon from O2 Agri and Apostolos Papadopoulos from Crop Intellect shared how Innovate UK’s global programmes have helped them open doors, validate markets and accelerate their growth plans.

Watch the webinar recording.

Listen to the conversation

Here are Caroline and Apostolos’ top recommendations for UK businesses considering applying to a GIP or GBIP:

Choose your target market strategically
Both panellists stressed that the benefits of participating are strongest when they’re tied to a clear priority market for your business, and a credible route to impact as it’s important to make the most of your businesses resources and grow into global marketplaces where there is the highest chance of long-term success.

Expect a programme, not a trip
The value comes from the full journey: preparation, structured in-market activity, and sustained follow-up.

Allocate senior-leadership time and commit to follow-up
Attending with a decision-maker (or ensuring leadership can act quickly on learnings) helps convert introductions into pilots, partnerships, and distribution discussions.

Use the cohort effect to open doors
Turning up ‘as part of an Innovate UK cohort’ can change response rates and meeting access, particularly for smaller companies trying to break into new markets. Building relationships with other UK founders can be an additional benefit, further growing your network.

See training and confidence-building as a core benefit
Pitch practice, market insight, and mentorship can strengthen the company’s overall market readiness.

Real world outcomes from O2 Agri & Crop Intellect

Caroline Wellon, Co-founder & Managing Director, O2 Agri

O2 Agri provide innovative engineering solutions to support challenges faced in the agricultural sector, particularly in the poultry sector. Their hyperoxygenated water helps to reduce chemical and antibiotic use in poultry production and increase productivity and sustainability

Caroline attended a GIP to Australia in 2025 and described how the structured programme with in-market mentoring enabled access to contacts and markets they would have struggled to reach from the UK. They are now working to raise awareness of their technology in Australia, looking into opening an office, and have trials agreed in principle with a University in Queensland.

Apostolos Papadopoulos, Founder & CEO, Crop Intellect

Following Crop Intellect’s involvement in a GBIP to Canada in 2022 and a GBIP to New Zealand in 2023, Apostolos highlighted the practical benefits of the programmes: curated introductions to distributors and regulators, access to trial partners and research institutes, and feedback from local investors.

Make your commitment and make sure you put the time and effort to actually make it a success because all the other pieces of the puzzle are there and it’s just, waiting for you to really make it happen.

– Apostolos Papadopoulos

From both businesses, the message was consistent: do your research, commit the time, and be prepared to act quickly on new relationships. For UK agri-tech SMEs with an identified priority market and a willingness to engage fully, global programmes can help de-risk expansion and accelerate credible routes to international growth.