EIT Food startup Soil Capital recognised as one of Europe’s most promising innovators at EIT Awards
Alejandro Trenor of Soil Capital takes €20,000 prize with second-place win for innovation
Soil Capital, part of EIT Food’s RisingFoodStars network, has won second place at the prestigious EIT Awards held during the EIT Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on 11th October 2022.
The 9th edition of the EIT Awards brought together 27 outstanding innovators from 15 countries, competing across four categories: the CHANGE Award, Innovators Award, Venture Award and Women Leadership Award.
Representing the EIT Food community in the Venture Award, which showcases startups and scaleups that have benefited from business acceleration and creation support by the EIT Community, was Alejandro Trenor, CFO of Soil Capital.
Soil Capital, an agronomy company that unlocks carbon payments for farmers, won second place in the Venture Award through an inspiring pitch, winning a cash prize of €20,000. As Europe’s first certified carbon payment programme for farmers, Soil Capital places value on the way food is produced by rewarding regenerative practices through their software solution, providing a realistic incentive for farmers to adopt regenerative agriculture practices.
Soil Capital has benefited from EIT Food's network, identifying funding opportunities and financial support through the RisingFoodStars accelerator, which enables successful, impactful agrifood startups to scale to the next level.
Tackling global challenges
Each year, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) celebrates the entrepreneurial and societal achievements of its innovators. By highlighting ground-breaking innovations and the teams behind them, the annual EIT Awards inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs across Europe. The EIT Awards also showcase how the EIT Community, Europe's largest innovation ecosystem, supports the development of entrepreneurial skills, products and services addressing some of Europe's biggest challenges.
“It is clear that new innovations will be key to tackling pressing global problems from climate change to energy to food security. This year’s winners have demonstrated that there are promising solutions emerging from across Europe which are set to transform society and position our continent as a global leader.”
The EIT Awards promote innovation and encourage entrepreneurs by putting the most innovative ventures, entrepreneurial graduates, innovation teams and women from the EIT Community in the spotlight. Each award comes with a monetary prize of €50,000 for first place, €20,000 (second place), and €10,000 (third place).