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Empowering Dutch Scale-Ups in Agrifood Innovation 

Scaling Tables on Funding

Dutch agrifood scale-ups face a significant funding challenge. While international competitors raise an average of 84 million euros, Dutch scale-ups secure only 35 million. This investment gap threatens their ability to scale and compete globally, putting the future of Dutch agrifood innovation at risk. The recent development of Invest NL taking the lead with pension funds in new fund-in-fund for scale-ups is a great step forward in the overall challenge.  

On Thursday, 17th October, Foodvalley hosted Scaling Tables on Funding, an event that connects scale-ups, corporates, investors, and industry experts. It fosters open discussions to explore strategies that make food innovation businesses more attractive for investment. Through this collaboration, scale-ups build stronger business cases and tackle complex funding challenges for scaling.

Cedric Verstraeten from Revyve has shared how the Scaling Tables helped him gain a clear perspective on bridging the gap between his current position and his next funding round, including when to incorporate debt financing. Meanwhile, Jasper Schouten from 1-2 Taste emphasized how the event provided concrete solutions for his funding challenges.

As an investor Ward Heij from Polestar Capital mentioned that as an investor you cannot scale alone, having everybody in the same room to discuss who can do what really helps laying out the puzzle.

Driving Agrifood Innovation Forward

By closing the funding gap, Dutch scale-ups can lead in agrifood innovation. Scaling Tables
provide a platform for actionable strategies, enabling scale-ups to secure their place as tomorrow’s industry leaders. For investors and corporates, it’s a chance to engage with the next wave of agrifood innovators and shape the future of sustainable food innovation.  

Only together, we can close the funding gap and strengthen the startup ecosystem, ensuring Dutch scale-ups reach their full potential. We invite investors and corporates to join our community, collaborate, and help fuel innovation to shape the future of agrifood innovation. 

About Heroes Scaling Tables

Scaling tables are part of Foodvalley’s Heroes community initiative and are organised with the support of Invest NL. The Heroes community brings together scale-ups with the potential to become industry leaders in agrifood. The goal is to identify and support the next generation of industry “heroes” by 2030, with the vision of making the Netherlands a global leader in agrifood innovation. By fostering a dynamic network of scale-ups, corporates, and partners, Heroes provides access to talent, funding, and key resources needed to drive innovation and growth in the sector.