The winning initiatives and the winners of the €15,000 grand prize of the EU-funded Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) – Women Entrepreneurs Creating Change in Food and Agriculture program, organized by an all-female team and contributing to the development of women entrepreneurs who bring solutions to the global climate crisis from Turkey, have been announced.
The Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) program, supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s food fund (EIT Food), was launched in partnership with Impact Hub Istanbul’s food and agriculture entrepreneurship platform Foodback and Topraktan to promote inclusion and diversity in the agriculture and food sector in Turkey, to increase the number of women-led early-stage startups and to provide entrepreneurs with the necessary knowledge, confidence and support to develop their business ideas.
The program, which was organized for the fourth time this year, received over 700 applications in four years. The EWA team, which evaluated the applications with the support of EIT Food, determined the 10 entrepreneurs who were entitled to participate in the program. The program ended with the Demo Day presentations of 10 women entrepreneurs at Impact Hub Istanbul on November 27.
In the program where 10 entrepreneurs made it to the finals, the first prize worth 10 thousand Euros was awarded to Sultan Gül, Tuğçe Nur Erçetin, Züleyha Demirci, Büşra Yılmaz with Microhobist and the second prize worth 5 thousand Euros was awarded to Eylül Er with Palgae.
Microhobist, the winning initiative of the program, produces a soil fertility enhancing, sustainable and postbiotic plant growth regulator inspired by microorganisms in nature.
With Palgae, Eylül Er, the second prize winner, contributes to the circular economy by producing bioplastic granules from algae, from which she obtains biomass using wastewater from food and agricultural factories.
“We will continue to support women entrepreneurs”
Stating that they have supported more than 45 women entrepreneurs in four years under the EWA Program, Impact Hub Istanbul Co-Founder Ayşe Sabuncu said, “The ratio of women entrepreneurs in startups established in Turkey has averaged 17 percent in recent years. In order to increase this rate, we will continue to support women entrepreneurs who transform Turkey’s food and agriculture sectors with the EWA program.” She added that 6 of the 40 startups participating in the EWA program continue to receive investments after the program.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
