StartLife and EIT Food join forces for Europe’s agrifood startups
Credit: StartLife
StartLife, a Netherlands-based agrifood accelerator, and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food, Europe’s largest food innovation community, have announced a strategic partnership, marking a major step toward accelerating agrifood innovation across Europe, they say. The partnership makes EU agrifood startups in StartLife’s flagship programme eligible for EIT Food investment funding of up to €1.5 million.
The partnership combines the strengths of two of Europe’s agrifood innovation players. Together, StartLife and EIT Food aim to fast-track the development of sustainable solutions that make food systems healthier, more resilient and future-proof. EIT Food is supported by the EIT, which is a body of the European Union.
By linking EIT Food’s pan-European investment network with StartLife’s startup acceleration expertise, the partnership opens a gateway for early-stage agrifood innovators to scale their technologies and impact.
“We are very excited about our partnership with EIT Food,” said Dr. Nikki Harrison, managing director of StartLife. “By combining the strengths of two European agrifood powerhouses in a first-of-its-kind collaboration, we can offer startups unprecedented access to funding and growth opportunities.”
Benoit Buntinx, director of business creation at EIT Food, said, “Having worked with StartLife for years, this partnership was a natural next step. StartLife’s startup support is top notch, and through our collaboration we can make a big step forward in our joint mission to accelerate the growth of agrifood startups that help build healthy and resilient food systems.”
The collaboration builds on a strong foundation of shared success stories, including innovative startups like Orbisk, MagieCreations, Cano-ela, Time-Travelling Milkman, and Revye. Until now, only startups that have graduated from EIT Food’s own accelerator programmes are eligible to receive funding. The new partnership will open this exclusive opportunity to include alumni from StartLife Accelerate programme, provided that its application and selection process is fully compliant with the Horizon Europe (HE) guidelines.
Beyond funding, startups will gain access to shared resources, industry expertise and a network that spans the entire European agrifood value chain. StartLife and EIT Food will strengthen Europe’s innovation ecosystem, creating new pathways for entrepreneurs to bring breakthrough ideas to market and drive meaningful changes in global food and agriculture, they conclude.
