Fast forward

• The 2024 Startup Accelerator saw its most diverse pool of applicants, with a 6x increase in AI-powered nonprofit (APN) solutions.
• During the program, Fast Forward will equip the selected cohort with seed funding, a tailored curriculum, mentorship, and technical support.
• Since 2014, Fast Forward has seen its portfolio of 90 tech nonprofits collectively impact over 186M lives and secure $753M in follow-on funding.
• Fast Forward is set to showcase these solutions in the upcoming months via its Demo Days.

• Autogon AI , a no-code AI orchestration platform, today announced it has received backing from Fast Forward Venture Studio .
• Autogon’s platform offers a drag-and-drop interface that enables users to build AI models in minutes – without prior knowledge or technical skills.
• Founded by Obi Ebuka David in 2023, Autogon AI is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and serves a global marketplace.
• Autogon serves over 20 industries, including finance, healthcare, marketing, and retail – offering tailored AI solutions to meet specific needs.

• Forward Consumer Partners (“Forward” or the “Firm”), a private equity firm which invests in branded consumer businesses, today announces the successful closing of its oversubscribed debut fund, Forward Fund I (“Fund I”).
• Launched in June 2023 and closed in December 2023, Fund I exceeded its target and closed at its $425 million hard cap, with support from a diverse base of highly regarded global investors.
• Forward held a single close for Fund I and did not use a placement agent.
• Together, the individuals who comprise Forward share a common vision: to help enduring consumer brands make progress toward their potential.

• But since March 2021 prices have been climbing faster than wages.
• In the first year of COVID, to the June quarter 2020, Australia went through its first year of negative inflation since 1997.
• Fast-forward only two years, and the quarterly consumer price index hit 7.8% in December (and the more experimental monthly index hit 8.4%.)
• Going from bottom to top at such a speed only increased the pain.

It began with broken supply chains

• The acceleration in inflation began with a mismatch between supply and demand.
• Before COVID, the world experienced more than three decades of stability and high predictability in supply chains, thanks to an intense move towards globalisation.
• This prosperity was based on the assumption that goods and people could move freely across the globe.

Then governments sprayed us with money

• Then there was a huge increase in demand for products as governments splashed around money in an effort to keep their economies afloat.
• Being unable to travel, dine out or get a proper haircut, people went online to buy bicycles, air fryers and hair dryers like never before.
• Online shopping accelerated faster than expected, with big waiting lists for items as diverse as cars, video games, pool chlorine and pet food.

Then Russia invaded Ukraine

• In early 2022 just as the world was preparing to open up, Russia invaded Ukraine.
• Russia, a major global supplier of gas and oil, was driven out of several markets by international sanctions in what is a textbook trigger for inflation.
• The third wave came as prices for parts, components and materials increased downstream in a domino effect.

And climate change accelerated

• But the time span of both pales when confronted with something that will impact Australians for generations: climate change.
• The Bureau of Meteorology’s report on the State of the Climate 2022 highlights the ongoing changes for Australia including amplified storms, floods, droughts, heatwaves and blizzards with “one in a 100 year” events multiplying.
• Take the rollercoaster ride of an iceberg lettuce going from $2.50 to $12.50 due to floods in Australia last year.
• The move to renewables, which is fundamental to mitigating climate change, has a price tag attached to it at the moment.

Yet there’s a silver lining

• Supply chains are more robust after the pandemic, evidenced by container transport prices going back to what they were in 2020.
• Wind and solar energy are becoming cheaper at a remarkable rate, and there is promising news on hydrogen as a fuel.
• Read more:
  You don't have to be an economist to know Australia is in a cost of living crisis.