Accelerator drives AgriFood innovators forward
The Innovate UK AgriFood Accelerator provided training and mentorship to increase the diversity of Innovate UK grant funding applications within the AgriFood sector and support participants in developing their businesses.
The Cohort
A small cohort of innovators were selected who had not previously received grant funding and were keen to apply for future Innovate UK opportunities. The participants had varied skillsets and industry experience, and their businesses specialised in AgriFood sectors including food and drink; plants and crops; livestock and aquaculture. The participating businesses included individuals from:
- Green Gear Robotics
- LinearWorks
- Renaissance Biology
- Matugga Distillers Limited
- Urban Data Dynamics Ltd
- Ediform
- Kofo Wholefoods Ltd
- Preta Carbon Ltd
- Nutree Gut Ltd
The Programme
Over six months, the programme offered training sessions that helped innovators deepen their knowledge and tackle key challenges. The AgriFood Accelerator shared information on the following topics across six sessions:
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The opening session provided opportunities for the participants to network with each other and for Innovate UK Business Connect to share their insights on the AgriFood sector and Innovate UK’s ecosystem of opportunities.
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The AgriFood team helped the cohort identify relevant funding opportunities and shared top tips for building a strong project consortium. This session also highlighted the importance of partnering with other businesses that have complimentary capabilities, and provided information on additional reasonable adjustment accessibility support available to ensure everyone can participate.
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During this session, guidance was provided on what happens after a grant application is submitted including the requirement to deliver a strong presentation in the grant application interview and how to build an international project consortium.
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The Innovate UK Business Connect Investment team and Anchored In ran a session about responsible innovation and pitching for investment. Participants were given the opportunity to prepare and practice their own pitches.
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In this session, the participants were joined by colleagues from the European team to explore the process of accessing Horizon Europe funding as well as growing collaborative multilateral networks. Furthermore, Agroceutical Products provided some inspiring insights into how they grew their business as a result of access to global market opportunities they discovered during the Innovate UK Global Incubator Programme, and from being part of the Global Explorer’s Programme.
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Venner Shipley provided legal advice on protecting business ideas through Intellectual Property (IP) as well as adding value to a company through forming a collaboration agreement such as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This free legal advice was hugely valuable to the participants and enabled them to increase their understanding of the importance of upgrading legal aspects of their businesses.
The Outcomes
Companies that participated in the programme had a diverse range of expertise and this helped spark innovative ideas and potential collaborative opportunities.
I wanted to say a big thank you for the support I received during the Agrifood Accelerator from Innovate UK Business Connect. The AgriFood team offered valuable grant application advice for the ‘Diet and health innovation: Early stage feasibility projects’ funding competition that has significantly helped my business. I feel very lucky to have benefitted from the transformative new introductions I made which would have been very hard to form without the incredible support from this programme.
– Tahir Ali, Founder of Nutree Gut Ltd
In addition to the six sessions that the accelerator participants attended, an online group was created, and cohort members were encouraged to network with one another beyond the facilitation of the accelerator. This peer network enabled the participants to explore potential ways of partnering on future collaborative funding opportunities; share their knowledge; and provide updates on the progress they are making with growing their businesses. This has been a valuable offering from the programme, providing support to the cohort after the programme finished in areas such as commercialising their business or developing a unique technology offering.
The Accelerator provided the resources to enable the cohort to increase their chances of winning future grant funding and provided the tools to fast-track their innovations.
Get Involved
Discover the latest news, events, and funding opportunities by visiting the Innovate UK Business Connect AgriFood team webpage.
Explore the How Innovate UK Business Connect helps section of our website in addition to the Good Application Guide and Innovation Canvas to help your innovative business think more strategically and increase the chances of winning future AgriFood grant funding opportunities. Make sure to explore the AgriFood Investment Readiness Programme for more tips increasing your chances of securing funding and investment.
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