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EIT Food startup programmes

KLÍMAINNOVÁCIÓS KÖZÖSSÉG

Klímainnovációs Közösség (KIK), Climate Innovation Community, was founded by PANNON Pro Innovations. At KIK we are passionate about connecting climate innovators from different fields and committed to build a strong climate innovation community in Hungary. Through our startup programmes, we help ideaholders to transform their greentech ideas into climate-positive businesses. Since 2013 we have supported more than 200 startups, provided more than 1300 mentoring hours and distributed more than 1 million EUR among the best Hungarian greentech startups.

 

WHAT ARE EIT and KICs?

The EIT is an independent body of the European Union set up in 2008 to spur innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe to overcome some of its greatest challenges. It brings together the so-called ‘knowledge triangle’ of business, education and research to form dynamic cross-border partnerships – Knowledge and Innovation Communities, KICs - that develop innovative products and services, start new companies, and train a new generation of entrepreneurs.

Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) are a unique type of partnerships within the European innovation landscape and develop innovative products and services, foster new business, encourage growth and train a new generation of entrepreneurs. Characterised by a high degree of integration, a long-term perspective, efficient governance, the colocation model and their entrepreneurial culture, the KICs aim to increase Europe’s capacity for innovation by bringing together leading companies, universities and research labs.

 

EIT FOOD PROGRAMMES

EIT Food, established by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), is building an inclusive and innovative community of diverse food sector partners, to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe. 

Campden BRI Hungary and PANNON Pro Innovations represents EIT Food in Hungary and act as a "contact point" for the local representatives of the agrifood sector (Campden BRI Hungary for innovation and educational programmes, whereas PANNON Pro for start-up programmes). Acting as EIT Food HUB in Hungary, Campden BRI Hungary and PANNON Pro support innovators and entrepreneurs, organise local trainings and workshops for students (e.g. RIS Fellowships), start-ups (please find programmes below), researchers, farmers. 

 

                                                                                   

 

Get to know more about EIT, EIT RIS and EIT Food: 

 

CONTACT US

If you have any questions please contact us: Eszter Pomázi, Entrepreneurship Project Manager, startup@ppis.hu

Teams of at least two people are welcome to apply for each of our programmes. As we also work with international trainers and teams, most of our programmes are (partly) in English. Get to know the current programmes for teams of different levels of development, in different time periods and with different programme elements!

 

EIT FOOD STARTUP PROGRAMMES

As a partner, Climate Innovation Community is supporting EIT Food with the recruitment of Hungarian innovators. Get to know the current programmes for individuals or teams with different levels of development and choose the one that fits you the most.

 

Contact us

 

Jumpstarter


Creative community, advanced know-how, unique programme, expert trainers and mentors - that's EIT Jumpstarter. EIT Jumpstarter is a cross-sector programme with one of the broadest scopes in the world designed for early-stage innovators who want to get stronger and start their business. The programme helps innovators and entrepreneurs to build a viable business model around their innovative product or service idea and validate it. In 2024, it will be organised for the fifth time in partnership with six Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs): EIT Food, EIT Health, EIT Raw Materials, EIT InnoEnergy, EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility, with the support of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

Who is it for?

Academic project teams, innovators, researchers, PhD students or Masters students who have a product or service idea for innovation in the field of health, agri-food, raw materials, energy, urban mobility or manufacturing and who want to take their idea from the lab to the market.

Other target groups will also be launched this year: the New European Bauhaus and Rebuild Ukraine.

What's in it for you?

During the 8-month programme you will develop and validate the business model best suited to your innovative idea. The training sessions are based on the lean start-up methodology from the Silicon Valley, translated into a European context. You can learn about customer value proposition, market segmentation, finance, investment and legal basics.

Participating in the programme will open doors to European markets. It connects the best teams with major industry partners in the EIT Community, such as GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips, Roche, Bosch, Pepsico and Maspex.

Selected teams will have a budget of 2 000 EUR to cover their own individual travel and accommodation costs and the best three teams in each category can win prizes of 10 000, 5 000 and 2 500 EUR.

Important dates

Deadline for applications: 26 April 2024
Selection: May 2024
Online bootcamp: May/June 2024
Training sessions: September 2024
Final: November 2024
 

Stage of development: idea phase
Objective: idea validation and networking
Duration: ~8 months
Programme: bootcamp, ongoing business and professional consultations, workshops, pitch competition
 

Application deadline: 26 April 2024
👉 https://eitjumpstarter.eu/


TeamUp

TeamUp brings together leading technology innovators and top business professionals and supports them in building effective agri-food businesses. Selection is followed by matchmaking facilitated by EIT Food, and the newly formulated teams then create, test and validate their value proposition and business model. During this three-month phase, EIT Food will provide training, coaching and expert support, as well as financial support of 2 000 EUR per team per month. At the end of the programme, the teams present their results to experts and the most promising will be awarded a non-refundable grant of 10, 15, 25, or even 40 thousand EUR!

Who is it for?

Apply for TeamUp as Tech Co-founder if you:
- have an impactful agrifood technology that tackles one of EIT Food's Missions;
- want to bring your innovative solution to the market but struggle to commercialize it;
- are passionate about entrepreneurship and want to develop and grow an impactful agrifood startup;
- want to partner up with the right co-founder who would lead the business side of developing a startup.

Apply for TeamUp as Business Co-founder if you:
- have entrepreneurship development experience in areas like business, operations, marketing, strategy and want to apply your skills to bring an impactful agrifood solution to market;
- are passionate about innovation and technology in the agrifood sector;
- want to partner up with brilliant technologists and become a co-founder or team member of an innovative agrifood startup;
- care about making a positive impact in one of EIT Food's Missions.

Important dates

Application deadline: 30 April 2024
Matchmaking: June-July 2024
Business coaching and mentoring: August-October 2024
Final: November 2024

Stage of development: early, even idea stage
Objective: Find a team partner, co-founder with business or technology background, validate value proposition and business model
Duration: 6 months
Programme: matchmaking, business coaching and professional consultations, pitch competition
 

Application deadline: 30 April 2024
👉 https://www.eitfood.eu/projects/teamup

 

Test Farms

If you are a startup or an individual with an innovative solution in sustainability, precision agriculture, digital traceability, CO2 monitoring, or other that can revolutionize farming practices, Test Farms 2024 is for you. Test Farms empowers startups and individuals with groundbreaking agritech solutions to test, validate, and showcase their products and services. The mission is to bridge the gap between innovative technology and practical agricultural applications, ensuring that farmers have access to sustainable, efficient, and effective innovations.

Who is it for?

Entities that have developed an innovative solution in agriculture, animal husbandry, primary food processing, having at least a prototype, a viable product ready to be tested in real environment, have not participated in previous editions of the Test Farms, are or were not EIT Food’s RisingFoodStars, have received no more than 60 000 EUR in funding from EIT Food in 2023.

What's in it for you?

You can test your product or service on a real farm in Poland, Spain, Portugal or Italy.
You get feedback from farmers, local agronomists and industry experts.
You can apply for financial support of up to 3 000 EUR to cover the costs of the tests.

Important dates

Application deadline: 30 April 2024
Matchmaking: May-June 2024
Testing: July 2024 - July 2025
Demo Day: October - November 2024
 

Stage of development: individuals, startups, registered small businesses

Objective: validation and pilot on a real European farm
Duration: ~1 year
Programme: matchmaking, testing and validation, Demo Day
 

Application deadline: 30 April 2024
👉 https://www.eitfood.eu/projects/test-farms

 



Sales Booster

Develop your internationalisation strategy and shake up the European markets!

The Sales Booster is a unique programme empowering innovative startups to explore and enter new agrifood markets across Europe. It supports startups with training, coaching, expert advice, and network to prepare for their development and growth in new markets.

Why join?

Become part of a vibrant community of agrifood founders, exchanging experiences and learning from EIT Food alumni.
Participate in short dynamic group sessions that combine peer-to-peer learning and tailored advice from industry leaders.
Build an internationalisation action plan to support your expansion and boost your sales with the guidance of a personal growth advisor.
Explore new markets in Europe, connect with leading experts and companies with the support of the EIT Food network and establish partnerships for future growth.

Who is it for?

Agrifood startups with impactful solutions contributing to at least one of EIT Food's missions or focus areas.

OR

Non agrifood startups, startups from other sectors with an impactful product/solution that can be applied in the agrifood industry contributing to at least one of EIT Food's missions or focus areas.

EIT Food Missions
- Healthier Lives Through Food
- A net Net Zero Food System
- Reducing Risk for a Fair & Resilient Food System

Focus areas
- Alternative Proteins
- Sustainable Agriculture
- Targeted Nutrition
- Sustainable Aquaculture
- Digital Traceability
- Circular Food Systems

Apply for Sales Booster if...
your innovative product or solution achieved relevant sales in the early-stage;
you have consolidated your home market and you are looking to expand within the geographical area covered by EIT Food;
you have a sales/business development team and resources available to start expanding your sales abroad.
 

Application deadline: 29 April 2024
👉 https://www.eitfood.eu/projects/sales-booster


 

 

Seedbed

Looking To validate the market opportunity? The programme is for three participant groups: entrepreneurial academics, aspiring entrepreneurs and newly formed startups looking to exploit commercial opportunities underpinned by science and technology.

  • Stage: Before validation
  • Objective: identify your core business assumptions and develop a strong value proposition
  • Duration: ~6 months
  • Programme: Bootcamp, industry specific trainings and mentoring, up to 6 000 EUR support to test ideas directly with more than 100 potential customers and stakeholders and validate your business idea, pitch competition. 
  • Application: Next application will be open around november 2024. If you are interested in the programme please contact us through filling out the "Pre-application" form.  

👉 Get to know more about the programme here: https://businesscreation.eitfood.eu/

EIT Food Accelerator Network (FAN)

The EIT Food Accelerator Network (EIT FAN) connects impactful agrifood startups with industry-leading corporate and research partners to pilot their technology and drive the ultimate goal: a successful market adoption.

  • Stage: Registered Startups With Ready-To-Pilot Solutions
  • Objective: Pilot the service, technology or product, networking
  • Duration: ~4 months
  • Programme: Matchmaking, networking events, mentoring, media, DemoDay and Expo, potential for follow-on funding for selected startups
  • Application: Next application will be open around november 2024. If you are interested in the programme please contact us through filling out the "Pre-application" form.  

👉 Get to know more about the programme here: https://businesscreation.eitfood.eu/

RisingFoodStars

A RisingFoodStars (RFS) is for early scaleups that are past the ideation phase, have paying customers and are poised for significant growth and global scale.

  • Stage: Early Scaleups
  • Objective: International growth 
  • Duration: Continous
  • Programme: 1on1 matchmaking with an unparalleled network of the main European corporations, universities and research organisations, increased visibility, tailored business support in scaling up, internationalisations, fast track access to EIT Food funding
  • Application: Next application will be open around november 2024. If you are interested in the programme please contact us through filling out the "Pre-application" form.  

👉 Get to know more about the programme here: https://businesscreation.eitfood.eu/

 

Pre-application