Deadline: 28-May-2020
EIT Food has launched the COVID-19 Bridge Fund for EU agrifood startups that have been affected by coronavirus as part of the EIT Crisis Response Initiative.
The aim of the EIT Food COVID-19 Bridge Fund is to provide targeted support to high impact and growth potential start-ups and scale-ups during the crisis and adapt/accelerate to post crisis economic reality. With the bridge funding they will be able to continue their critical activities, extend their runway and prepare effectively for raising follow-on funding.
Focus Areas
- Alternative proteins
- Sustainable Agriculture
- Targeted Nutrition
- Sustainable aquaculture
- Digital transformation of traceability
- Circular food systems
Funding Information
The EIT Food COVID-19 Bridge Fund can provide financial support of between €200,000 and €500,000 per venture.
Eligibility Criteria
To be considered eligible for funding from the EIT Food COVID-19 Bridge Fund:
- The applicant must be a registered legal entity;
- The legal entity must be based in a Member State of the European Union (EU) or EIT Food associated countries;
- The applicant must be a Small Enterprise as defined under the EU recommendation 2003/361;
- Only applicants who submit a complete application and answer all the required questions in the online application step will be evaluated by the reviewers for the second phase of evaluation;
- Application must be submitted in English;
- The applicant through its venture must address one of the six focus areas of EIT Food;
- The applicant must have on-going critical activities (activities that are critical to long-term market success of the venture) that are clearly delayed, disrupted or at risk of being cancelled due to COVID-19;
- The applicant must be in the process of preparing for- or closing an investment round with external investors (i.e. not EIT Food) of €200,000 at minimum, the process of which is at serious risk of delay or cancellation due to COVID-19;
- It can be demonstrated that the runway of the applicant is adversely impacted due to COVID-19;
- None of the Exclusion Criteria must apply to the applicant, as outlined in the Terms & Conditions;
- The applicant must accept the EIT Food COVID-19 Bridge Fund’s Terms & Conditions.
Selection Criteria
- The extent to which the funding is able to help the venture adapt to the situation caused by COVID-19;
- Have- or be developing a unique technology, product or service with a clear demonstratable competitive advantage and strong intellectual property position or strategy on any technology;
- Have high growth- and high societal and economic impact potential within the six focus areas of EIT Food;
- Have commercial validation or early traction with (potential) customers and proof points on the value proposition and business model;
- Have a multi-year roadmap that includes milestones on technology/product development, commercial development, organizational development and fundraising;
- Strong prospects of raising follow-on funding and proof points of interest from potential financers;
- Have a strong team in place that is able to execute on the key activities within the roadmap and/or a plan to attract key personnel to the venture.
For more information, visit EIT Food.