EIT Food hub Serbia

Donnor: European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Food
Partners: : Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad 
Beneficiaries: innovation community in the field of food and agriculture - researchers, students, entrepreneurs, start-ups
Implementation Period: March 15, 2023 - December 31, 2025
Portal: https://www.eitfood.eu/in-your-area/serbia

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) drives innovation by supporting entrepreneurs, innovators, and students across Europe to turn their best ideas into reality. For each major societal challenge, there is an ecosystem of partners, the EIT’s Innovation Communities, that creates and finds innovative solutions.

The EIT Knowledge and Innovation Community addresses global challenges through partnerships in the areas of: Climate Change, Cultural & Creative Sectors & Industries, Digitization, Future of Food, Health Innovation, Sustainable Energy, Added-Value Manufacturing, Raw Materials, Urban Mobility.

One of the most important areas is the future of food, for which the EIT Food is responsible. As the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community, EIT Food is accelerating innovation through a mission-based approach. EIT Food invests in projects, organizations, and individuals, which share the goals of a healthy and sustainable food system. EIT Food accelerates innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all.

EIT Food has launched a Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) which focuses on enhancing development within the agri-food sector by implementing activities related to innovation, education, business creation and communication in RIS countries and regions. EIT Food RIS aims at strengthening those regions in Europe which are modest and moderate in terms of innovation in agrifood sector. This outreach scheme is open to innovators that are not partners of EIT Food and provides targeted support to EIT RIS stakeholders through a portfolio of projects.

Through an open call, NALED was chosen to be the EIT food Hub for Serbia in the period 2024-2025.

NALED and EIT Food can help you:

• Access a network of Europe's leading agrifood businesses, start-ups, universities, and research organizations.
• Learn about the agrifood sector through online courses, education programs, and professional development opportunities.
• Take your ideas from concept to market so you can launch innovative products, ingredients, and solutions.
• Engage in a dialogue with the food industry and co-create the future food system through access to our innovative events, digital platforms, and public engagement activities.
• Benefit from expert mentoring, tailor-made entrepreneurship programs, and easy-to-access funding to enable you to launch, accelerate, and scale your agrifood business.

Project goals

NALED's strategic plan for the period from 2022 to 2025 defines 12 program objectives grouped into two key areas, i.e. levels of action, which ensure the improvement of public policies and services in various sectors, at the local, national, and regional levels. One of the program goals is to improve the conditions for the development of agriculture and the food industry.

As an EIT Food hub, NALED, in cooperation with the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad, will implement a series of activities aimed at supporting the innovation ecosystem in the field of agriculture. We will gather all representative participants from the agriculture sector and work on networking science and economy. One of the focuses will be the promotion of female entrepreneurship in the field of agriculture and providing support to women entrepreneurs to improve their business. Organizing activities aimed at start-up companies in the field of agriculture with a focus on EIT Food missions: Net-zero food system; Healthier living through food or risk reduction for an equitable and resilient food system. Through training, workshops, courses and round tables, we will prepare participants in the domestic innovation ecosystem to participate in and receive support from EIT Food.