The SANET project aims to cooperate with existing incubators in supporting their capacities to support young entrepreneur (business plan development, entrepreneurship training, mentoring) and to achieve a relevant impact, that is reaching and triggering the active role of a vital actor in the field of innovation. By building the capacity of business incubators, the project aims to encourage the development of local start-ups operating in the agri-food sectors and involved in digitalization processes.
The Sanet call for applications aims at selecting 30 startups. It allows:
- The selected 30 start-ups for an intensive remote training course. These young people will attend a 10-day intensive course to enhance their capacity to master the entire cycle from the first concept to the sale and post-sale service, passing through the idea development, the business plan, the search of partners and funds, the marketing strategy and others.
- Following the intensive training, the 30 start-ups will have the opportunity to have dedicated support (each start-up will have an Innovation manager available) which will allow them to concretely develop their project idea by following up on the theoretical concepts addressed during the plenary course.
- the best 10 ideas (start-ups) will be selected to participate in the 6-month incubation period.
- The best 10 replies to this challenge, evaluated by the same commission that made the first selection, will receive, during a local event, a grant supporting one strategic part of their development plan such as tools, training, coaching, services, and equipment to be validated, together with the coordination team of CIHEAM Bari. The grant will be made available for immediate use. Its use will be described by the young entrepreneurs at the end of the brokering event.
The Domains:
To be selected, the Startup needs to demonstrate that it is bringing an innovative and feasible project in the field of Agri-food sector, with a particular focus on at least one of the following topics:
- Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: innovative models and tools for the management of water, soil, land, animals, trees.
- Sustainable Agriculture: Adoption of agricultural practices that minimize the use of harmful chemicals, preserve biodiversity and promote environmental sustainability.
- Smart Farming: the broad range of decision support software and high-performance hardware technologies, that include sensors, cameras, drones and UAVs, image processing, AI, and data-analytics., used for precision irrigation, integrated pest management, yield forecasting, and farm management.
- Crop Protection & Fertilizers: New technology helping farmers for protecting the crops from pests & diseases, non-toxic and environmentally friendly.
- Biotech: Genetics & Breeding Agricultural science including genetic engineering, molecular markers, molecular diagnostics, vaccines, and tissue culture, to modify living organisms (Breeding): plants, animals, and microorganisms.
- Livestock & Poultry: technologies that enhance the management, welfare, and value of livestock and poultry, covering applications from breeding and feeding systems to animal health and cattle monitoring.
- Farming & Robotics: Building robotics, machinery, and equipment used to automate farm work, harvest crops and to sort it.
- Innovative Food Products: new food products or production processes in order to find more nutritious and healthy food.
- Valorization of Neglected and Underutilized Crops (NUS): crops that have been prioritized as “Future Smart Foods” because they are nutritionally dense, climate-resilient, economically viable, and locally available or adaptable food crops.
- Novel Farming Systems: Solutions utilizing space, light, soil, and water in nontraditional ways to grow crops in places and conditions that were hitherto impossible, as vertical and indoor farming systems, based on aero, aqua or hydroponic systems.
- Post Harvest: solutions that handle cleaning, sorting, processing, packing and storing of produce to secure, improve or maintain the quality of the produce following harvest, including freezing and thawing, biodegradable packaging and environmentally friendly coverings.
- Farm to Consumer: New business models to shorten and simplify the supply chain by connecting the farm to the end consumer.
- Recycling and Waste Management: Strategies to reduce waste, promote recycling and implement sustainable waste management practices.
- Irrigation & Water Management: smart systems optimizing irrigation by utilizing sensors, data and sophisticated software.
- Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency: Development and adoption of clean energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal waves and tides; implementation of technologies and practices aimed at reducing energy consumption.
Funding Information:
- The winners, the best 10 ideas (start-ups), will be informed by email. The grant consists in a sum of € 10.000,00 to be used in the form of support tools, training, coaching, services, and equipment according to the choice of the winners.
We mentored the following startups through the program:
JARA The concept of the startup revolves around providing healthy, seasonal food products, preserved in natural methods which is ensured through the production mechanisms. The products resources mainly come from the local agricultural produce, aiming to support local farmers and promoting the concept of health through food, also raising nutritional health awareness for the Palestinian consumer, and participating with the community economy by contributing to the creation of job opportunities.
Al Muhandis factory relies entirely on fresh sheep and cow milk produced from farms of livestock breeders that are free of transmittable diseases. The milk is collected daily and throughout the year in the morning during sunrise, and then the milk is transferred to refrigerators for cooling, after which the manufacturing process begins, which provides more than five types of fresh milk products: yoghurt, labneh, labneh with olive oil, cheese, boiled cheese and halloumi cheese.
AgriEcotourism is a project that specializes in organic agriculture and ecological tourism for green growth and ecological farming in marginalized rural areas. It is a youth centered initiative that engages visitors in sustainable practices.
