Growth Alliance: Rentenbank's AgTech & FoodTech Acceleration Workshops

Date

Coming in 2023

Application Deadline

To be announced

Who should apply

Startups on the way to their first or next funding round

Cost

Free

Bring your startup to the next level

Do you have your first customers, exciting pilot products, first consistent revenue streams and some promising customer feedback? Then you’re ready for Growth Alliance – Rentenbank’s AgTech & FoodTech Acceleration Workshops!

The Acceleration Workshops are free programs for startups, that already have an established user base and are currently looking for (more) funding – whether from investors, business angels or other funding bodies – and a strong strategy for growth.

Deadline to apply is 26 September

During the program, you will be supported in bringing your AgTech, FoodTech or Bioeconomy startup to the next level. Initiated by Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), this collaboration brings together expertise from educators, investors and experienced founders, who will share their knowledge and experiences.

This program is designed to empower people in Germany to tackle serious societal challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, food waste and food shortages in line with the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Acceleration Workshops will be held in German.

What is offered

Four days of intensive workshops and network opportunities spread over four weeks:

Workshop Day 1

Fundraising Readiness

Meet all participating startups
Learn about the venture capital industry
Get to know alternative fundraising opportunities
Work in groups to polish your pitch deck
Listen to keynotes of experienced founders

Workshop Day 2

Financial and Legal Planning

Get deep dive insights on capitalization tables, valuation, legal term sheets and financial planning
Listen to and engage with experienced founders
Work on your pitch deck and get tips from our experts

Workshop Day 3 & 4

Networking and Investor Talks

Rehearse your pitch with experienced pitch coaches
Meet potential customers in a networking session
Meet VCs and investors and present your startup to them
Make use of our experts in individual office hours
Join the Investor Dinner in the evening of 7 December

Why should you apply?

The Acceleration Workshops are the third phase of the Growth Alliance program, that aims at advancing the startup scene in the AgTech, FoodTech and Bioeconomy sectors. While the Bootcamp focused on the advancement of seed stage startups, the Acceleration Workshops offer startups in the early growth phase consulting and training opportunities. The goal of the program is to make your startup fundraising ready.

The Growth Alliance Bootcamp at TechQuartier in July 2022 was a great event for us! During the three intensive days, we made many new contacts with other founders from the agri-food industry. The diverse offers like input sessions, office hours, 1on1 meetings or the pitch training bring us and our product further. We are especially happy that we won the prize for the best pitch among 13 great startups at the Demoday. We can only recommend every startup to take advantage of the now expanded program. Great location, great people, great program! And most important: we had an incredible amount of fun!

Who will be accepted?

10 Startups

will be accepted to the Acceleration Workshops.

We are looking for startups that meet the following criteria:

You are based in Germany or have a registered office in Germany
Your startup operates in the Agriculture, Food or Bioeconomy sector
You have a validated business model with a first customer base
Optional: You have already collected some seed investment and are now looking for further financing

The application process build on three steps

#1

Application phase:

Application Form

Fill in the form with information on your startup and let us know your motivation and expectations (tip: for a quick procedure, have your pitch deck at hand! The application form is in German.)

#2

Interview Days

Interview

If we liked your application, you will get an invitation to a video-interview. Jump on a call with us, pitch your business model and be prepared for a Q&A on your startup and your motivation.