Global Business Innovation Programme with Canada - Agrifood, July 2023

A GBIP has three stages:

Prepare for the market

Preparing for the market includes the cohort being briefed by sector and market experts on, for example, cultural aspects of conducting business in that country. Delegates receive help to find business partners and arrange meetings and are advised on best practice including the management and protection of their intellectual property.

Visiting the market

Visiting the market provides opportunities to attend pre-arranged meetings and activities in order to better understand and maximise the opportunities that the visit presents.

Exploiting the opportunity

Exploiting the opportunity is arguably the most important aspect of the programme. To maximise the opportunity, participating companies are given bespoke one-to-one support from an Innovate UK EDGE innovation and growth specialist to help develop and implement an action plan.

The Global Business Innovation Programme operates on a competitive basis and businesses selected are required to participate in all three stages (some or all of which may be online).

To apply, you must be a UK based innovation-led
company with ambitions to grow and internationalise, with fewer than 500 employees. You must be able to attend and complete all activities.

Innovate UK recognises that the innovation sector is not as diverse as the UK demographic and is committed to
improving the diversity of who we support. As such, we welcome applications from those under-represented across the AgriFood sector.

Why Canada? Canada is home to a vibrant start-up culture and a strong ecosystem of world Leading agriculture and food companies. It is the 5th largest agricultural commodities exporter in the world with the sector benefiting from an abundant supply of natural resources including diverse plant, animal and marine life.

Agri-Tech is a strategic priority for collaboration and was a founding pillar in the MoU signed between DSIT. (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) and Global Affairs Canada.

Plant-based protein is a key area of focus for Canada. As part of Canada’s Budget 2022, $150 million was earmarked for Protein Industries Canada (PIC). This builds on the previous $173 million entrusted to Protein Industries Canada, through the Global Innovation Cluster Program to advance innovation in plant-based food and ingredients. Having completed successful programs to Canada in the agri-food sector, Innovate UK is looking to build on promoting collaboration and partnerships. Bilateral funding opportunities are now being developed with the Global Business Innovation Programme being a critical activity to help establish strong collaborations and consortia.

We would welcome applications from companies who are involved in developing innovations to support the plant-based protein sector in (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Ingredients – The development, scaling and optimisation of plant-based ingredients, e.g. oats, beans, peas.
• Products – The conversion of high protein crops, ingredients and co-products into consumption-ready goods.
• Adding value / enhancing quality – Innovations to improve the nutritional quality, consumer acceptability, sustainability and safety of plant-based products.
• Waste stream management – Innovations to add value to waste streams produced during processing of crops such as field peas, lentils, canola, and related ingredients.
• Animal feed / pet food applications – Innovations related to uses focussed on plant-based animal feed and pet food.

A recording of the applicant briefing event can be found here.

Closing date: 4 July 2023
Pre-visit workshop: 8 – 9 August 2023
Market visit: 9-15 September 2023
Post-visit GBIP workshop: 29 November 2023

For more information, assistance with your application or to discuss accessibility needs, please contact James Kayam at james.kayam@innovateukedge.ukri.org or call +44 (0)7514 719636.