Food-scalEUp

Relevant for: Startups, innovative SMEs, accelerators and incubators

Foodvalley NL partners with 9 European innovation organisations to develop European agri-food and digital acceleration network

Foodvalley NL is contributing to the Food-scalEUp project, an initiative that has been set up in the framework of the Smart Sensors 4 Agri-Food partnership. The main objective is to support all agri-food companies and associated organisations to make the leap to Industry 5.0. This means for the agri-food sector Europe to evolve towards a better connected, resilient and smart agri-food system in which puts people first.

 

The ultimate objective of the Food-scalEUp project is to develop and optimize new high-quality acceleration services for SMEs and startups. The acceleration services will mainly target businesses and local actors operating in the agri-food industry that want to implement innovative digital solutions in emerging and moderate innovation regions. To achieve this goal, Food-scalEUp consortium partners will focus on the following actions:

·       Identify best practices in agri-food innovation and digital acceleration ecosystems.

·       Foster connections and facilitate continuous improvement of the acceleration ecosystem across Europe.

·       Encourage knowledge exchange and collaboration among scale-up support organisations, thereby boosting agri-food digital innovation ecosystems.

·       Drive the progress of startups and SMEs, while promoting the creation of local jobs with high added value.

Food-scalEUp places particular emphasis on regional agri-food digital innovation ecosystems, recognising the vital role played by solution providers in enabling the development and utilisation of new value chains. Additionally, several subsectors, including agtech & new food, blockchain, advanced manufacturing and robotics, AI & big data, and fintech, have shown significant growth potential in terms of early-stage funding deals. These subsectors have relevant applications in the agri-food industry.

The regional European agri-food digital innovation ecosystems targeted by Food-scalEUp comprise various stakeholder groups, including:

·       Core actors in the agri-food production chain, such as primary production, food processing, and retail.

·       R&D partners, including technology centers, universities, and research and technology organisations.

·       Suppliers of process technology, such as machinery, packaging, and logistics providers.

·       Providers of digital-based solutions, primarily startups and highly innovative SMEs involved in areas such as novel sensors, systemic integrations, and process management and optimisation solutions.

“Foodvalley NL takes part in this initiative as a practice leader in providing acceleration solutions to start-ups and SMEs in the food sector.”