If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.
As stated by the EBRD:
Rationale
The surge in new technologies over the past few decades has the potential to transform many sectors of the global economy and the agrifood sector is no exception. However, though innovative ideas can spring from any geography, many of the countries in the EBRDs regions of operation (COOs), have not yet developed strong innovation ecosystems, creating a geographical innovation divide. Support is needed to assist small companies to scale, with many startups failing due to the lack of prototype validation in market conditions, for example. Often, specialized advisory services and support, like those necessary to support innovation, are readily available in markets where demand is already established, but not as much where the needs are actually highest. In addition, all economies, but particularly those emerging and developing, are struggling to implement upcoming innovations and undertake technological change in the agrifood sector, particularly with regard to adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
Even in geographies where strong innovation ecosystems exist, there is still a large barrier to new technology and knowledge transfer from start-ups to established industry. The rate of technological implementation needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts in global food systems is enormous, and significant climate-related investment will be required for decarbonising agri-food systems. To participate in this drive for technological and environmentally sustainable change, support can be provided to SMEs and corporates to develop an innovation ecosystem that allows entrepreneurs to develop their ideas by promoting and providing opportunities for research and development, market readiness, and links to industry for eventual investment. Different varieties of mentorship and capacity building can support start-ups with this work, providing an innovative and inclusive community of entrepreneurs who accelerate their ventures towards a sustainable, healthy and trusted food system. These startups can then be linked to private agrifood sector corporates to drive innovation uptake, scale new ideas and engage with frontier technology within corporates.
This bridging of the innovation divide can facilitate an innovation ‘catch up’ among corporates, and even assist them to surpass the current positioning of competing global firms. It also assists corporate clients from EBRD COOs to link to and consider innovation solutions from EU/EBRD COOs.
TC Services
The aim of the project is to accelerate solutions and technologies for green and sustainable agrifood system transformation in the EBRD/EU countries, support the development of the innovation ecosystem and provide backing to its stakeholders. The project focuses on strengthening innovation in green and sustainability issues in agrifood production through capacity building for pre-series A start-ups that have developed green/sustainability- focused agrifood solutions across the agrifood value chain in order to assist them to develop and implement their technical and commercial roadmaps to success. In addition, the project supports a corporate venturing element, whereby start-ups are connected to corporates in order to facilitate enhanced linkages to industry, raising of innovation-related capacities, scaling of startups, as well as commercial success for both the start-ups and the corporates.
The Consultant will implement the following:
Component 1: accelerating startup innovation
Component 1 activities will take place over three years primarily in Warsaw (Poland) with some activities in person and others online in the remaining countries under this project. The consultant will support startups innovating on the latest sustainability-led developments in the agrifood sector. Capacity building activities carried out by the consultant will include:
- Identifying the most promising agrifood innovation startups/ pre-series A startups that fit within the objectives of this project. Other criteria includes:
- Two evaluation rounds where the startups are assessed based on two different sets of selection criteria.
- Capacity strengthening as well as scaling of 30 agrifood innovation pre-series A small and medium enterprises (SMEs)/startups (10 per year) from EU/EBRD countries of operation.
- Provide organisational support for international innovation and investment conferences and events to support featured startups, and the project as a whole to raise their profile.
- Following selected startups before and after the above capacity building activities in order to observe and document their success, overall satisfaction with advisory support
Component 2: connecting startups to corporates: corporate venturing services
Capacity building activities carried out by the consultant, will include:
- Providing corporates access to a pipeline of agrifood focused startups
- Delivery of tailored matchmaking partnerships between agrifood innovation startups and agribusiness corporates, where startups can assist corporates with immediate challenges, lower costs, identify new product lines, and drive value creation
Component 3: visibility, and communications
- A programme visibility and communications package to showcase the achievements of the programme.
