Empowering Women in Agrifood 2023 has gathered 10 women who will participate in the programme in Romania

For the 2023 edition of Empowering Women in Agrifood, 122 women from across the country began the application process of which 50 completed their applications. Following the selection process, organized by representatives of Impact Hub Bucharest and EIT Food, 10 applicants and their business ideas were invited to further participate in the accelerator:

1. Veronica Buiuc - Very Vero: starting a farm for clean and nutrition-rich food. Initially, the focus is on two main areas: sprouts and shoots production (with the potential to develop a juice serving service using these sprouts) and egg production from Araucana chickens - eggs are known popularly as being cholesterol-free.
2. Ilinca Călugar - Mură-n Gură: the launch of a range of "clean label" products, with rich protein content and a high nutritional value, derived from a high percentage of fresh vegetables. The products aim to be a complete meal, with an important intake of protein and a rich nutritional profile from vegetables. They will be functional (ready to eat anytime, anywhere), packaged in recycled materials and affordable (offered at a fair price).
3. Cristina Coliș – Seeds for the Future: establishing a professional nursery for edible perennial plants and providing services for the implementation/development of forest gardens throughout the country. Forest gardens can also be designed as ornamental gardens.
4. Oana Melinte – Karomia: creating a franchising system for agriculture, based on the establishment of direct supply chains between rural areas and nearby cities, through direct sales.
5. Tatiana Nicoară – Unison: unison is a local producer of granola, nut spreads, raw bars, vegan mayonnaise, vegan parmesan alternatives and other delicacies. Unison products are available through a network of over 50 partners nationwide and in 22 physical locations (stores, cafes, etc.). In addition to the current range of 14 products, the start-up aims to develop new herbal products.
6. Mihaela Simion (Sipoș) - Happy Treats: the development of an insect farm, which focuses on three main directions: the production of finished products, i.e. rewards for dogs made of insect protein, hypoallergenic, but also live insects for feeding farm birds, which leads to improved bird health and consequently increased egg production. The third direction is represented by the utilization of farm by-products, which represent a natural fertilizer for agricultural crops.
7. Dana Sofia - E-labels Digital Solutions: the launch of a digital platform that connects consumers and producers in the agri-food sector who share common values: transparency, ethics, and honesty. The platform aims to protect producers and consumers from fakes, to support them in making the right decisions related to the purchase of food products, to educate consumers and to contribute to supporting local producers and consumers.
8. Daniela Spătar – Greenery: business specialized in the cultivation of microgreens, namely the development and marketing of a high-quality organic product, in powder form, obtained by grinding micro-dehydrated green plants. The plants will be dried using a dehydrator, thus preserving their entire nutritional value. Cultivation of the plants is done on indoor vertical systems under intense and controlled lighting, low humidity and adequate ventilation, allowing year-round production.
9. Andreea Tudorache – Local Spot: development of a digital platform to promote and manage the concept and administrative needs of Local Gastronomic Points (LGP) owners and their customers. In addition, a network of events will be created to contribute to the development of local gastronomic spots and the surrounding ecosystem, involving owners, local producers and local communities. Additionally, a dedicated space will be created to promote food education through actions and events aimed at children, adults and LGP owners.
10. Mădălina Zmău – Happy Duck Farm: development of a micro-farm specialized in the production and marketing of duck meat (initial phase), with the aim of expanding into duck meat preparations (in a later phase). The farm aims to provide a healthy duck-rearing environment with a diet consisting of grains, natural feed enrichment factors and free-range grazing, replacing concentrated feed enriched with synthetic vitamins and proteins. The ultimate goal of this endeavour is to contribute to a healthy lifestyle for the end consumer.

On June 16, the 10 participants took part in the Matchmaking event, the first official event for the 2023 EWA edition, where they met the mentors and organizers of the programme, participated in an inspirational panel with Oana Craioveanu - Co-founder, Impact Hub Bucharest, Andreea Porojan - Sustainability & ESG Manager, Raiffeisen Bank Romania and Cosmina Dinu - Co-founder, Pasture Poultry Farm & ROMO and the winner of the grand prize of the 2020 edition of the program. The future entrepreneurs also took part in training in the field of intellectual property supported by the lawyer Maria Anghel. The event was also attended by Aleksandra Bara, Project Manager at EIT Food, Central and Eastern Europe region.

• Indira Abdulvoap - Business Consultant & Chief Growth Officer, Impact Hub Bucharest;
• Raluca Ioana Barbu - Co-Owner, Highclere Consulting;
• Bianca Chișulescu - SME Financial Instruments Expert, Raiffeisen Bank România;
• Cosmina Dinu - Co-Founder, ROMO & Ferma de păsări pășunate;
• Tudor Iacob - Plant Based Founder, Unison Goodies;
• Mădălina Neagu - Co-Founder, We For Real;
• Adnana Popa - Co-Founder, Velocità;
• Giorgiana Popescu - Regional HR Director, ADM Romania;
• Andreea Porojan - Sustainability & ESG Manager Raiffeisen Bank Romania;
• Zorița Diaconeasa - Chief. Working Dr., Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Economics and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca.

For the entrepreneurs selected in the program, an intense period of learning follows, alongside their assigned mentor, as well as training sessions and participation in national and international events in the agrifood field.

Between July and September, they will attend two webinars on Business Modeling and Basic Financial Aspects, as well as a masterclass. On November 21, 2023, the 10 entrepreneurs will participate in the closing event of the program – The Pitching Event - where they will present their business ideas in front of the public audience, mentors, investors and the jury. Two participants with the highest final score will receive additional funding of 10,000 EUR and 5,000 EUR.

Starting in 2021, Impact Hub Bucharest officially represents EIT Food in Romania as EIT Food Hub as a contact point for local representatives of the agri-food sector, with the role of supporting innovators and entrepreneurs and facilitating the development of this strategic sector.

More details about the 2023 edition of Empowering Women in Agrifood are available on the official page of the program: https://www.impacthub.ro/ewa-empowering-women-in-agrifood-2023/.

Impact Hub Bucharest is a dynamic space where professionals and entrepreneurs work to develop business projects and initiatives. Since 2012, Impact Hub Bucharest is the first coworking space in Romania, with a community of more than 3,000 members in Bucharest, while globally the organization is present in over 100 locations in over 50 countries. Impact Hub Bucharest’s mission is to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem by offering startup acceleration programs and direct funding, as well as the largest online entrepreneurial education platform in Romania – Startarium.