What Happened at Croc Camp 2026 — Meet the Finalists
Croc Camp 2026 is done. Three founders came in with pitches. They left with pitches that bite. 🐊
On 19 August, the Croc Pitch 2026 finalists met Paspalis Capital Investment Manager Alex Farrugia at the Darwin Innovation Hub for a full day of preparation before pitch day on 9 September.
What happened on the day
Alex walked through pitch day logistics, the networking and media opportunities on the day, and the nine Paspalis selection criteria used by both the panel and the investment committee.
Each finalist delivered a timed 10-minute pitch followed by direct Q&A and feedback from Alex — covering slide content and structure, tailoring the message for an investor audience, and delivery. Alex also walked through the Paspalis investment process, including due diligence stages and timeframes. Getting selected at Croc Pitch is the start of a process, not the end of one.
What’s exciting about this year’s cohort
All three are Australian founders tackling the same broad problem space — agriculture and biodiversity restoration in remote Northern Australia — from three completely different technology angles. Seaweed biotech, ecological data platforms, autonomous drone intelligence. Three different technologies, one shared mission: building solutions for Australia’s North.
Meet the finalists
Alison Duguid — SeaCulture (NT) An Australian seaweed innovation company developing regional seaweed supply chains for industries including agriculture, soil rehabilitation, cosmetics, food and textiles, with a focus on creating sustainable economic opportunities for regional communities.
Dr Debbie Saunders — NaturesHelm (ACT) A biodiversity technology company helping businesses measure, understand and manage their environmental impacts through data-driven biodiversity insights, supporting sustainability, nature-related reporting and better land-management decisions.
Edward Barraclough — Drone-Hand (VIC) An Australian agtech company using autonomous drones, fixed cameras and machine learning to improve livestock monitoring, mustering and land management, helping producers increase efficiency, visibility and safety across remote operations.
They pitch on 9 September. The panel asks the questions. The Paspalis Investment Committee decides.
Croc Pitch 2026, Wednesday 9 September, 9am–11am ACST. Darwin Innovation Hub. Free to attend in person or online as part of BECNT’s Startup September.
