PeakBridge, the agrifood-tech venture capital fund manager investing globally, and EIT Food, the world's largest Agrifood Innovation Ecosystem supported by the EIT, have announced the launch of PeakBridge FoodSparks® SCSp, a new seed fund for European agrifood-tech start-ups.
The FoodSparks® fund will invest in pan-European seed and early-stage start-ups to offer access to strategic capital and support with scaling up, thereby working towards innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems in food production, supply, and sustainability.
The fund will offer up to EUR 30 million of investment over a span of up to four years, with an aim to invest in approximately ten start-ups per year. The companies to receive investment will all be domiciled in Europe/EFTA and Israel, have protectable and scalable technology, and align with EIT Food’s mission of making the food system more sustainable, healthy, and trusted.
In addition to capital, the start-ups and entrepreneurs included in the fund will be given access to advice and mentoring from the wider EIT Food community, allowing them to benefit from decades of food experience and knowledge.
FoodSparks®, managed by PeakBridge, will be headed up by Managing Partner Yoni Glickman, working closely with its investors, among them Ordway Selections, CPT Capital, Givaudan, Puratos, and Gullspång Re:food, allowing the portfolio companies to benefit from a wide range of potential co-investment and follow-on investment opportunities.
Erich Sieber, Managing Partner of PeakBridge, said “In addition to privileged access to deal-flow, due diligence and business development, the collaboration between EIT Food and FoodSparks® by PeakBridge will offer our portfolio companies direct access to the EIT Food network thus creating significant additional value in addition to our investment.”
CEO of EIT Food Andy Zynga, said “Funding the next generation of agrifood innovations is one of the most important steps we can take in ensuring a sustainable future for the global food system. That is why we are so excited to announce the launch of the FoodSparks® fund. By working with PeakBridge and its venture capital resources, we can offer entrepreneurs and start-ups across Europe the chance to realise their ambitions and scale up their ideas – whether that’s finding the next big meat alternative or reducing food waste.”
The launch of PeakBridge FoodSparks® SCSp shows that investors and institutions are starting and encouraging others to embrace new methods of agricultural production and the chain all throughout the societies' food consumption. ECOPNET (European Cooperation and Partnership Network) welcomes this initiative and believes that the initiative is crucial for many sectors of the EU including the steps taken for the Green Deal and Circular Economy.
Source: European Institute of Innovation and Technology