EIT Food Initiative opens grant program Empowering Women in Agrifood in Ukraine

Selection for a free educational and mentoring program for women entrepreneurs and start-ups in the agricultural food sector is starting in Ukraine.

The Diia.Business reports that the program is called "Empowering Women in Agrifood," which is implemented by EIT Food, the largest European initiative to support innovation in food technology.

What is the problem?

The agricultural food sector in Ukraine is facing significant challenges due to Russia's war that brought destruction to the infrastructure, logistics, and damage to land resources — mine contamination and the need to remediate land damaged by shells, trenches, and the movement of military equipment. According to the latest calculations by Kyiv School of Economy Agrocentr and Minagro analysts, the cost of damage to the agricultural sector from the Russian aggression is $6.6 billion. Now entrepreneurs have a limited number of opportunities to learn and grow their businesses. This is especially relevant to women since a big part of men in the industry were enlisted into the army to protect the country.

What is the solution?

To address this problem, a free educational and mentoring program could be established to provide women in agriculture with the knowledge, guidance, and networking opportunities necessary to overcome these obstacles and achieve their goals. 

During the "Empowering Women in Agrifood" program, participants will work with personal mentors, participate in online/offline training and events, develop business skills, and make new contacts.

How does it work?

The program is implemented in parallel in various European countries, providing an international network.

Training will take place for six months (from June to November 2023) in Ukrainian online and offline. Two meetings will be held in Kyiv and Lviv.

Each program participant will additionally receive €1,000 for travel/accommodation during offline events. The remaining funds will be used to develop the participants' businesses. Participants will have the opportunity to win a grant of up to €10,000 for the development of their own business or startup.

Adult women entrepreneurs or founders of agricultural startups can participate in the program. Participants must also meet the following criteria:

• an active business that is less than two years old from the moment of official registration or a business idea in the agri-food sector;
• the proposed idea did not receive funding (investments/grants) in the amount of more than €30,000.

The business idea must correspond to one of the three strategic goals of EIT Food:

• Healthy Living Through Nutrition – Promoting consumer access to quality products and useful information.
• Carbon neutrality of the agri-food sector – combating CO2 emissions, reducing pollution through diversification, and creating new markets for food waste.
• Risk management for a fair food system in the future, a sustainable, reliable food supply chain with better food security, and digital solutions.

EIT Food was created as a consortium of key business players in the food industry, start-ups, research centers, and universities from all over Europe. EIT Food is implemented by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which is an independent body of the European Union created to drive innovation in Europe. In Ukraine, the program is implemented in cooperation with the NGO Institute of Partnership and Sustainable Development.