AgSphere and EIT Food to forge pathway between Canada and Europe
From left to right: Patricia Willems-Mawenu, Senior Global Relationships Development Manager, EIT Food; Raphael Debleser, COO, EIT Food; Lindsay Smylie, Managing Director, AgSphere; Chris Paterson, Executive Director, AgSphere
AgSphere, the agrifood innovation hub dedicated to advancing the Canadian ecosystem, has announced a cross-border partnership with EIT Food to facilitate sector collaboration between Canada and Europe. EIT Food is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
Based in Brussels, Belgium, EIT Food is the world’s largest food innovation community enabling the sector across Europe. Under the partnership, the two organizations will facilitate activities for the agri-innovation sector, such as startup immersion programs and exchanges, training and skills development and strategic collaboration between the two regions.
“Our partnership with EIT Food opens up a world of possibilities for Canadian agri-food innovators to access European resources, while Canada has agricultural prowess that we can share with our European counterparts,” said Chris Paterson, AgSphere executive director. “EIT Food has a proven model for sector collaboration that we can learn from, to help strengthen our own ecosystem here at home.”
Richard Zaltzman, CEO at EIT Food said: “Partnerships like this are essential to delivering real change in the food system. By working together across borders with organisations like AgSphere, we are strengthening a pan-European and global innovation community that can make food more sustainable, accessible, secure and transparent for all.”
EIT Food visited Canada in April to meet with AgSphere as well as sector stakeholders in Calgary and Edmonton. AgSphere is attending the EIT Food event Next Bite on October 28-29 in Warsaw, Poland, and is inviting Canadian agri-food start-ups interested in or exploring the European market to join their delegation.
Connecting innovation
The Expression of Interest is now open for applications until May 25, with selections made in June.
“We’re hitting the ground running on our partnership with EIT Food by assembling a cohort for our first start-up trip this fall,” said Paterson. “The EU is not only a major market for agrifood products, it’s also home to sector innovators that we want to help start-ups build relationships with.”
AgSphere officially launched in December 2015 to help connect the agrifood innovation ecosystem in Canada. Its founding partners are AdFarm, the Calgary Stampede, Olds College of Agriculture & Technology and the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund.
Start-ups can submit their Expression of interest on the AgSphere website. To learn more about AgSphere, visit agsphere.com. For more information about EIT Food, visit eitfood.eu.
