Impact Hub Bucharest, in partnership with EIT Food, has opened the applications for Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA), an EIT Food acceleration program dedicated to female entrepreneurs and their projects in the agri-food sector.
Ten female entrepreneurs from the agri-food sector will benefit from mentoring, training sessions and ongoing support, access to an international community of industry specialists, as well as the opportunity to receive two prizes, a grant of EUR 10,000 and one of EUR 5,000.
Applications are open until May 23 and are aimed at women who either have a business idea or are running an existing startup that is no more than three years old.
The Empowering Women in Agrifood 2025 program is exclusively aimed at agrifood startups founded by women, from all over Romania. These companies must be no more than three years old and have not received more than EUR 60,000 in funding from private or public funds during this time.
EWA participants take part in entrepreneurial events and networking sessions with experts, mentors, and other agrifood entrepreneurs. The active community, consisting of over 100 mentors from all over Europe, creates a valuable international context for development and collaboration.
The program calendar includes the selection phase of participants between May 26 and June 4, followed by the kickoff meeting and the official announcement of those selected on June 4 and 5. A matchmaking event will take place on June 19. Between June and November 2025, participants will benefit from mentoring, training, and dedicated events, with the program concluding with the final in November 2025.
EIT Food is the largest food innovation initiative in Europe, built as a consortium of key players in the food industry, startups, research centers and universities from across Europe. It is one of nine Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), an independent EU body created in 2008 to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe. EIT Food’s aim is to “futureproof” the food system, which means building an inclusive community that “supports innovation at all stages of a business’s development.”
(Illustration: Impact Hub)
simona@romania-insider.com
