One hundred and ten women start their entrepreneurship journey with EIT Food
EIT Food EWA offers its participants training and personalised mentorship with a business expert, as well as access to funding opportunities of up to €10,000
This July, 110 female entrepreneurs from across Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and Turkey started their journey into entrepreneurship with the EIT Food Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) Programme. These participants will benefit from access to top industry connections, specifically tailored online training programmes, 1to1 mentoring, as well as access to dedicated online platform to boost their entrepreneurial potential.
Supporting female talent in 11 countries
Working with trusted partners, EIT Food can provide women with the opportunity to participate in an excellent entrepreneurship programme available in their own language. Our aim is to give startup support to everyone who has an idea and wants to grow their business in the agrifood sector. Having a dedicated programme for female entrepreneurs run in local languages increases accessibility and helps women to become part of the EIT Food community.
Lara RodrĂguez Ortega, Leader of the Programme and RIS Project Manager at EIT Food South said: “There is no doubt that women exceed expectations in our sector as leaders, however, we represent only 1/3 of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Can you imagine how much we could improve our food system if we use all the capabilities, ideas and values that female entrepreneurs have? That is why EWA is so important.”
Ideas for a healthy and sustainable food system
The ideas that will be developed through the programme cover all elements of the food value chain, from precision farming to healthy and sustainable products provided to consumers.
A microsensor that detects gluten in all kinds of foods within minutes, the using of charcoal for animal feed and an application that helps restaurants to sell food with approaching expiry date at discounted price are just a few examples of some of the marvellous products and services that will be developed throughout the Programme. The empowerment approach of EWA will enable participants to accelerate their growth and impact.
Aleksandra Niżyńska, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at EIT Food explains: “Empowerment is about making women stronger, more confident and ready to achieve the most of their potential. In EIT Food we help female leaders to grow, not only to become the best version of themselves, but also to make our food system even better than we can imagine!”.
More information about the women leaders selected in each country can be found on the following pages:
More News from EIT Food North & East
