8 agri-food startups enter the first batch of the Terraforma Accelerator
On Selection Day for the first Terraforma Accelerator Batch, 21 selected startups from the food and agritech business competed in Moscow. The aim of the five-month batch is to prepare the startups for cooperations with corporate partners such as Metro, Claas, Ekoniva or KWS Saat and to bring them to maturity for the next round of financing.
In the run-up, we selected and contacted 197 start-ups. We focused on start-ups from Russia, followed by the CIS region. 95 start-ups met the criteria set by our corporate partners. When we wanted to select the participants of the Selection Day, we were pleased to see that there were applications from Europe, Asia and North America. Russia’s food and agriculture scene is apparently of growing international interest.
It was a very long pitch day and with 21 outstanding startups selected, the high innovation potential of this country became clear to us. We were pleased to receive extremely positive feedback from our partners on the selection of the startups! Accordingly, it was difficult for the jury to select the eight finalists.
It is with great excitement that we announce the eight participants in Batch #1:
BioZet – Packaging
Gribzavod – Food and Beverages
Magrotech – Decision Support Systems
VRT – Virtual Reality
UniHeli – Supply Chain
Makalini – Vertical Farming
BioVolf – Food Production
EyeGod – Genetics and Selection
Congratulations to the teams!
Now the next exciting phase begins for all of us. Over the next five months, we will work intensively with the startups, examine their structures, develop their strengths and bring them to the table with big players in the Russian food and agribusiness industry to launch innovative pilot projects.
In parallel, we are preparing the second batch, which will start in March 2022. We look forward to connecting with food and agri startups from Russia, the CIS region and the rest of the world with interest in the Terraforma Innovation Programme in Russia. We look forward to writing success stories for our partners!