We´re excited to announce that Global Food Venture Programme of EIT Food will support once again 50 highly-qualified PhD students from across Europe to turn their science into viable business in Food & AgTech space. Join our 4th cohort to bring your innovative research from the lab into the market!
Global Food Venture Programme offers a bespoke 6-Month curriculum designed to address the needs of aspiring entrepreneurs and early phase start-up ventures. The programme comprises, Summer School in Entrepreneurship organised by our partners in Madrid, Bootcamp in Business Incubation organised by our Swiss partners and International Bootcamp created by our partner in Munich. The programme offers additionally Mobility Grants for business meetings with industry experts to validate technology feasibility and value propositions. The 2021 edition will conclude with a Final Competition Event, where students pitch their business plan in front of a jury, gain valuable feedback and have the chance to win cash Prizes for best start-up project. Participants are supported along this journey, with one-on-one Business Coaching to advance start-up ideas and create solid business propositions in food & agtech space. Apply to our programme to gain knowledge & skills in business creation, expert insights, showcases, mentoring and great networking opportunities!
Application for 2021 is now OPEN!
COVID19 global pandemic forces us to run Global Food Venture Program boocamps either online or in blended format. Our team will maintain program's high quality and deliver impact to our successful candidates once again! If you have concerns regarding your participation, contact us at Dimaki@zv.tum.de.
Global Food Venture Program: Stage I
Summer School
Our Stage I: Idea Development program aims to help Ph.D. students visualize scalable business ventures in the food and agricultural field from their research projects. The 10-day intensive program, will be joined by a 40 PhD student cohort, for a crash course on the idea development process, market & competitor analysis, prototyping, and financing. Participants are expected to apply the knowledge aquired hands-on, by developing a business idea that solves one of our food system's biggest problems. Summer school will culminate in a pitching competition, where best performers will be rewarded with a place in our mentoring programme and Business Incubation Stage II with waived fees!
Check out Stage I unparalled benefits!
- Global Food Venture Stage I, aims to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit of talented PhD students and help to improve creativity and system innovation skills. Participants will learn about the current challenges in Food & Agriculture and the transformation that is needed to create a sustainable and healthy system.
- In an 10 day Summer School, students will gain essential skills in ideation and business creation, interact with top food & ag experts, educators, business coaches and established start-ups.
- Within groups, participants will develop business ideas that solve identified problems in food and agriculture, and pitch their ideas in a final competition. Top winners will be awarded a place in GFVP 2020 Stage II.
- Students eager to further work on solutions for the Agrifood sector will be assigned a mentor for a period of 6 months to support them with their venture.
- Alumni of Stage I will have priority to join Global Food Venture Programme Business pre Incubation in 2021.
Stage I Impressions
Student Testimonials
Partners
Global Food Venture Program: Stage II
Pre-Incubation Bootcamp
Our 2021 Business Incubation program will accept up to 25 Ph.D. researchers with a venture idea or early-stage venture project in the agriculture and food field.
The business incubation program kicks off with a pre-incubation Bootcamp, where we help participants sharpen their business model. At the end of the Bootcamp, each individual will be paired with an expert mentor, who will provide business coaching, guidance and access to EIT Food ecosystem in a six-month mentoring programme.
Check out Stage II unparalled benefits!
- The Global Food Venture Stage II educates aspiring entrepreneurs in the area of business creation though a 6-Month intensive curriculum of two training bootcamps, individual company visits, business coaching, global networking events and online resources.
- Participants of Stage II have the unique chance to explore key entrepreneurship ecosystems in Europe and become part of the EIT Food community.
- Throughout the programme students interact with major players in the food & agriculture i.e. EIT Food industry partners, food system technology experts, start-up coaches and investors to get valuable feedback on their business idea
- 6-Month tailored mentoring from an EIT Food partner plus coaching on Finance is additionally offered to all participants eager to get their start-up projects to the next level.
- Best business ideas have the chance to win an innovation prize and connect to the EIT Food Accelerator Programmes and Seed Funding.
Stage II Impressions
Partners
Stage II Ecosystem Immersion Bootcamp
Our second Stage II Bootcamp focuses on equipping PhD students with skills & knowledge of building a company: team creation, IP protection, Investor negotiations, international expert insights, funding and financial management. Previous editions were held in San Francisco bay area and Davis California (2019) as well as Haifa, Israel (2018), giving participants a unique chance to immerse themselves in key entrepreneurship ecosystems. Due to COVID19 pandemic, our international bootcamp will be delivered in blended format in 2021 (online plus at Technical University Munich)!
Swipe below to have a look on experts and keynote speakers from past editions.
Stage II Impressions
Experts & Keynote Speakers
Entrepreneur First
London based talent investor entrepreneur first pays talented people to find a co-founder and found a company. Growth associate Kity Mayo talks on their form and launch method. GFVP and EF alumni Aditya Nayak shared his post-GFVP journey.
Entrepreneur First
Solveiga Pakštaitė
Solveiga, Mimica’s director, looks back on Mimica’s journey to success and insight into sustainable development goals.
Mimica Lab
Gain Velocity
Gain velocity teaches our PhDs on how to lead companies and grow better.
Gain Velocity
Martin Giese
Martin Giese: head of Xpreneur, business angel, and author, explain the art of negotiation and business models.
Xpreneur
Marco Masia
Marco Masia- Innovation consultant and veteran entrepreneur talks start-up financing.
Enihilo
Invest in Bavaria
Johanna Hebestreit of Invest in Bavaria gave an introduction to Bavaria’s start-up ecosystem.
Invest in Bavaria
Nathan Gold
Communication Expert Nathan Gold leads a workshop on how to bring your pitching skill to the next level.
The Demo Coach
Olaf Biedekarken
Olaf Biedekarken is the head of sensory and consumer science at Döhler- Germany’s leading producer and distributor of natural ingredients, ingredient system, and integrated solution for the food and beverage industry.
Döhler
Benedicte Simons
Marketing manager Benedicte Simons would be introducing the Institute Paul Bocuse Research Center at Lyon.
the Institute Paul Bocuse Research Center
Theo Kanellos and Luke Dalton
Meet Theo Kanellos and Luke Dalton of Zoetis, the animal healthcare provider with a mission to understand better and address the real-world challenges faced by those who raise and care for animals.
Zoetis
Mira Schütze
Mira Schütze will be giving our members a quick introduction to Bavaria’s startup ecosystem and the EIT Food Accelerator Network.
EIT Food
Florian Grigolet & Arnold Bitner
GFVP alumni Florian Grigolet and co-founder Arnold Bitner contemplate on their experience of developing Modelwise’s business development, raising funds, and convincing potential customers.
Modelwise
Rick Kostner
Rick Kostner will be heading a workshop on the art of outstanding leadership.
Rick Kostner
Julie Morris
Catch up on the newest development in California’s Agri-Food innovation scene with Julie Morris, a California-based Food & Agri consultant, and UC Davis lecturer.
UC Davis
Belinda Büchner
Belinda gives a presentation on TUM entrepreneurial culture and founder support
TUM Incubator
Eric Malis
Eric is an Entrepreneur, attorney, investor, professor, and the founder of Talis Partners LP-a legal and strategy consulting firm specializing in serving the startup community. Eric talk on Silicon Valley
entrepreneurial culture
and investment.
Student Testimonials
Partners
Final Pitch Event
The final pitching event marks the end of the Stage II journey. On this day, our cohort showcase the business plan they honed over the last five months. A jury panel consisting of food industry experts and representatives from the EIT Food community rewarded 3 of the most innovative business plans with money prizes up to 10K.
Alumni Success Stories
Mobility Programme
GFVP participants can apply for a mobility grant of up to 2000€, to enable them validate their early-stage business idea with an industry partner and/or technology experts. Application for the grant should include description of the start-up project, mobility purpose, expected benefits, cost estimations and outcome of the action. Our 2019 alumnus Caterina Chemetova used this chance to visit industry partners, Belgian enterprises DCM and Scientia Terrae. A fellow 2019 cohort member, Jatiziri, visited baking product manufacturer, the puratos group in Belgium, to validate her FERMENT-UP project, which helps chocolate farmers to practice better management.
Mentoring Programme
Expert mentors guide each stage I and II members through a six-month journey to validate their business ideas and bring their entrepreneurial goal to the next level. Swipe below to see our curated list of quality mentors.
Announcements
GFVP 2021 live webinar coming soon. Stay tuned!
The GFVP Activity Lead Chryssa Dimaki and fellow Program Manager Mina Mansoor Rankel hosted a live webinar on the 17th of April 2020. Those wondering whether the Global Food Venture Programme was the right fit were welcomed to join and get to know our mission, curriculum, entry criteria, partners, and alumni project. The webinar also featured Dr. Miguel Molina Romero, CTO of AI-based start-up Orbem, who shared his experience with our programme in 2018.
Our Alumni
The Global Food Venture helps researchers from all scientific disciplines to visualize business ideas from their research project and bring existing ventures to the next level. We focus on supporting new companies in disrupting the food and agriculture system- from bioplastic, supply chain to alt-meat. Here are some of our past alumni projects.
2019 Alumni
2018 Alumni
