03.04.2023 / APACCCEEC successfully organized the pilot edition of the Accelerator program for agricultural startups
In the period 27.03 – 01.04.2023, the pilot project “Accelerator program for start-up enterprises in the field of agriculture between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe”, was conducted at Sofia Tech Park, Bulgaria.
During the Application window period, 42 applications for participation in the Accelerator Program were received from 11 participating countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, China, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Montenegro) within the Initiative for Cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries.
An international jury pre-selected 20 start-up companies from 8 countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, China, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Montenegro) to participate, based on pre-written Methodology and Selection Criteria.
During the Accelerator week, the participants had the opportunity to meet, work and collaborate with mentors and lecturers from the academic and business circles from CEE and China.
The Accelerator provided an opportunity for exchange of know-how and experience, as well as networking with similar organizations. In addition, the finalists enriched their knowledge in various aspects related to the business development of their projects.
Some of the seminars and lectures during the Accelerator were on topics such as:
- Modern Agriculture;
- Marketing strategies;
- Human capital;
- Presentation skills;
- Leadership;
- Business planning and modeling.
- The finalists had the opportunity to visit scientific laboratories and research centers in Sofia.
During the Final Pitch Day on April 1st, the participants presented their innovative projects and solutions in the field of agriculture and related sectors to an international jury, which, after a secret vote, made a decision and awarded the following participants:
- Award for first place and a prize check for 25,000 euros was given by Mr. Nabil Gangi, Deputy Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, FAO – UN, to Lam`on (Bulgaria);
- Award for second place and a prize check for 15,000 euros was given by H.E. Dong Xiaojun, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Bulgaria, to Farm B digital agriculture (Greece);
- Award for third place and a prize check for 10,000 euros was given by Dr. Momchil Stanishev, Director of the Association for the Promotion of Agricultural Cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European Countries, to Bioreaction.tech (Hungary).
Among the official guests were also representatives of diplomatic missions from CEE, as well as guests from the academia and business associations from CEE and China.
The special guests of the APACCCEEC for the event, Mr. Nabil Gangi, Deputy Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, FAO – UN, and H.E. Dong Xiaojun, Ambassador of China to Bulgaria, as well as the Director of APACCCEEC, expressed their willingness and united around the thesis that after the successful implementation of the first edition of the Accelerator, it is important to turn the event to become into an annual one and gather young, creative and enterprising people in the sector of agriculture.
The final event and the awarding ceremony on April 1st were streamed online via ZOOM (for Chinese viewers) and YouTube (for CEE viewers).
You can watch the Final Pitch Day of the competition on our YouTube channel:
