Your business innovation must be underpinned by a science or technology with a prototype or lab proof of concept established. It must also fall under one of EIT Food’s key focus areas

You can apply for the Seedbed Incubator as a project team or as a registered company. A project team must consist of at least two individuals with complementary skills and experiences, and at least one member must be a citizen or resident of an EU member state, or Horizon Europe associated countries (NB This includes the UK!). If you are a solo researcher or an academic currently without any team members, you must still have support from at least one member of your Technology Transfer Office for the duration of the programme (and include these details in your application). If you are applying as a registered company, your company must be established in an EU member state, or Horizon Europe associated countries (NB This includes the UK!).

Switzerland and UK-based companies ARE eligible to apply. However, eligibility to receive funding will be determined based on Switzerland’s and UK’s eligibility status for EU funding at that time 

Programme applications are open from the beginning of January to the end of February each year, and all applications are evaluated from March-May. Up to 60 teams considered to have the highest commercial potential are then shortlisted to attend pre-training sessions and an intense 4-day Bootcamp in May. At the end of this Bootcamp, all the teams involved pitch their business innovation to our panel of experts, who select the final 40 to join the new cohort in June. Our regional hubs run the programme from June to December and all selected, participating teams are required to attend regular training sessions during its course.

No you don’t! The Seedbed Incubator operates in locations that account for five different hub regions across Europe, and the programme modules are delivered in a hybrid format. In most cases, teams are assigned to the hub that’s nearest to them for the convenience of networking. However in certain cases teams can also choose the most appropriate hub for them in terms of their specialism, and we review this on an individual case.

All selected, participating teams are required to commit at least 10 hours a week during the course of the programme. To take advantage of all what Seedbed has to offer, and to minimise travel (due to Covid-19 restrictions), our hubs facilitate the programme mostly online. We expect at least one team member to remain active, and to be engaged with the programme during its full course, from when it starts in June, until the final presentations take place in November.

Applications are assessed based on the understanding of the food system problem, its commercial solution, and your company’s fit with our ecosystem. Equally important is the potential impact of the innovation, its technology readiness, the business model, its USP, and the dynamics of the founding team.

Please refer to our programme Terms & Conditions for more detailed information.  

All judging panels consist of experienced entrepreneurs and experts from the agriculture and food industries.

No, any company that is creating an impact at any point along the food supply chain is invited to apply to this programme. Does your business innovation help to make our global food system more sustainable, healthy, and trusted? Then we want to hear from you!

The Seedbed Incubator offers funding of up to €6,000, along with the opportunity to access follow-on EIT Food funding and support through EIT Food’s Impact Fund. More information on this fund can be found here

Seedbed provides direct access to experts who fundamentally understand the commercial potential of science and technology in the agrifood sector. You will be joining Europe’s largest agrifood startup community to receive continuous support from other like-minded entrepreneurs, with endless opportunities to share knowledge and work closely with our world leading industry partners.

At the end of the programme, each cohort team is automatically enrolled as Seedbed Alumni and then invited to pursue opportunities for follow-on funding to support their commercial roadmap. This may include spinning out, starting up a new company, or establishing further technology feasibility tests with suitable identified partners. There is also the possibility to progress to the EIT Food Accelerator Network, which connects impactful agrifood startups with industry-leading corporate and research partners, to pilot their technology and drive the ultimate goal of every business: successful market adoption.