The Agrifood Innovation Summit 2021 brought together entrepreneurs, researchers, professors and representatives of the public system supporting agrifood innovation to find the trends that define the future of the industry. The conference also saw the launch of a comprehensive report, produced by Impact Hub Bucharest and Activize.Tech in partnership with EIT Food, Patria Bank, BASF and CBNagro.tech.
The report includes the first mapping of 50 Romanian tech startups involved in industry innovation, an analysis of the evolution of funding rounds in the sector over the last three years and the most important tech trends shaping the future of modern agriculture.
Among them – IoT, precision farming or biotechnology.
In the context of a growing need for increased agricultural capacity through sustainable practices, the use of technology in this industry is high on the agenda of European governments and dedicated EU bodies. It is also an opportunity for entrepreneurs who are already working on such solutions and can receive institutional support or funding.
Thus, the Romanian Agrifood Tech Startups Overview Report, the first local mapping of agrifood tech startups launched at the Agrifood Innovation Summit, is a tool to support these initiatives and help develop new projects, as the agrifood tech startup sector is at a very early stage. This is reflected in the number of startups that exist, the amount of funding rounds they attract, and the number of programs and local communities dedicated to these business verticals.
“Part of our mission at Impact Hub Bucharest is to facilitate innovation – including by connecting those who, by joining forces and expertise, can change industries. We hope this report is a useful tool for those who are developing projects in agriculture and need sustainability-oriented partners. In the spirit of collaboration, this is a project in which we became partners with local players with a strong focus on innovation and technology and who come with valuable perspectives in the field”, says Irina Simulescu, Program Manager at Impact Hub Bucharest and EIT Food Hub national representative.
“In the past ten years we have witnessed in Romania the different trends focused on technology in various areas, and now, from the signals we have from the market, the agritech field will pick up speed and we hope it will become one of the pillar areas of the Romanian startup ecosystem. We have high hopes for the coming years and, together with our partners, we will focus on supporting the development of the agro-food tech ecosystem through programs and events for startups and connections with organizations in the field” declared Mircea Vădan, Activize Manager.
What is in the Romanian Agrifood Tech Startups Overview Report
Mapping provides an overview of the agrifood sector in Europe. More specifically, the full report covers: the evolution of funding rounds in Europe and Romania, as well as EU initiatives to support sustainable farming practices through consortia such as EIT Food and the main tech trends in the sector (use of IoT in agriculture, farming as a service, food tracking applications, use of Autonomous Agricultural Machinery and Robots, biotechnology, online food shopping and indoor food production).