Deadline: 6 March 2020
The European Institute for Innovation & Technology (EIT) Food has announced a call for proposals to carry out activities to build entrepreneurial capacities for women in the agrifood business.
To boost the entrepreneurial skills of women in RIS countries, EIT Food will perform the Project in five RIS countries; 3 based in the South of Europe, namely in Greece, Portugal, Spain or Turkey and 2 based in the East of Europe, namely in Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia or Slovenia. As a matter of fact, applicants would need to select one of these countries where they will be willing to develop this project; not being possible to choose more than one.
The main objective is to find innovative solutions that tackle the problems faced by the food system created by women entrepreneurs while supporting them to grow these entrepreneurial ideas. On balance, the Project will also help these women to access other programmes offered by EIT Food. All these women entrepreneurs must come from within the above-mentioned regions.
The secondary aims of the activities are:
- Developing early stage startups and create new ones;
- Sparking co-founder relationships;
- Building links between industry, academia, startups and the wider community.
The activities will include:
- Scouting services;
- Mentoring and education of female entrepreneurs working in the agri-food sector;
- Organising workshops and providing networking opportunities;
- Organising a final competition event.
Funding Information
The selected organisation will sign a subcontracting agreement with the relevant EIT Food’s CoLocation Centre with gross funding up to 21.000 € to cover the eligible costs of the 3 startup events/workshops and other additional actions.
Benefits for organisations selected as Project activities organizers
Candidates chosen by EIT Food to organise the Project activities will be offered the following benefits:
- Ability to benefit from the collaboration with EIT Food and the EIT community (as subcontractors in EIT Food activities);
- Subcontracting agreement with relevant EIT Food’s Co-Location Centre with gross funding up to 21.000€ to cover the eligible costs of the EIT Food female startup event’s planning and organisation;
- Knowledge and organisational support of EIT Food and Co-Location Centres in organising and implementing the actions.
Organising the Project Activities shall be considered an opportunity to become associated with EIT Food, establish relations with its community and potentially become better embedded in the EIT Food activities. The selected organisation will also benefit from the increased visibility in their local entrepreneurship ecosystems, strengthening their position on the regional and national levels.
Eligibility Criteria
- Legal persons (such as companies, incubators or accelerators, higher education institutes, research institutes, non-governmental organisations);
- Operating in a country/region targeted by the call;
- Able to sign a subcontracting agreement with relevant EIT Food’s Co-Location Centre;
- Recognised as important players in the local female entrepreneurship ecosystem with strong regional outreach;
- Experienced in supporting female entrepreneurs;
- Capable of organising successful events and workshops;
- Able to organize the Project activities in the timeframe from early March to early December 2020.
EIT Food invites organisations from Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey to submit their proposals to become an organizer of the Project activities. The project will be run in five countries.
Selection Criteria
All proposals will be evaluated taking into account the following criteria, related to the applicant organisation and Project activities:
- Experience in training and supporting female entrepreneurs;
- Experience and ability to successfully organise and execute events in the field of innovation/ entrepreneurship/ women’s empowerment;
- Role in the ecosystem and existing network;
- Plan of how you will tailor the general structure proposed above, with the approach to the organization of Project Activities;
- Cost of service planned and budget breakdown;
- Interest and/or expertise in the food system.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted in electronic format using the subject tittle “Building entrepreneurial capacity for women from rural areas in agrifood business” at the address given on the website.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2SfTqIe
