Impact Hub Bucharest, in partnership with EIT Food, organises on Tuesday the fifth edition of the Agrifood Innovation Summit, a flagship event dedicated to innovation in agriculture.
The event brings together leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators from the agrifood sector for a full day dedicated to sustainability, digitalisation and supporting farmers, startups and innovative businesses in agriculture, according to the organisers.
'Agriculture continues to be a key sector for both the Romanian economy and that of the European Union, despite a steadily declining contribution to GDP and increasingly reduced profitability. The agricultural sector's contribution to Romania's GDP was 3.9 percent in 2023 and 3.2 percent in 2024, while in the EU it was 1.3 percent in 2023. For this reason, the event agenda proposes several topics of interest for participants such as the mission and values of EIT Food Hub Romania, the role of public authorities in the green and digital transition, agrifood startups preparing the technology of the future,' the organisers said in a press release.
The agenda also includes special sessions dedicated to women entrepreneurs in agrifood, complemented by interactive networking opportunities and moments for exchanging experience.
As the official EIT Food representative in Romania, Impact Hub Bucharest will open the summit with a keynote on the opportunities and challenges of the future.
'According to EIT Food, agriculture must feed almost ten billion people by 2050, which makes sustainable solutions, from solar powered irrigation systems to strategic afforestation, essential for the sector's resilience. Romania accounts for 23 percent of the EU's agricultural workforce, meaning 1.77 million jobs, the highest share in the Union. For this reason, the Agrifood Innovation Summit remains the place where ideas and collaborations can turn this reality into an opportunity for development and innovation,' said Oana Craioveanu, CEO and Co-founder of Impact Hub Bucharest and Startarium, quoted in the release.
Another important moment of the summit will be the launch of the new edition of the Romanian Agrifood Startups Report, a comprehensive analysis of the most promising startups in the area along with the main market trends and challenges.
According to the report, the percentage of women working in agriculture in Romania was 19 percent in 2021, the highest in the EU.
In this context, the event will also include the pitching session and awards ceremony of the Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) 2025 programme, where ten women entrepreneurs will present their business ideas. The EWA programme is dedicated exclusively to agrifood startups founded by women in Romania. Eligible startups must be less than three years old and must not have previously received public or private funding exceeding 60,000 euro.
This year's edition of the summit is supported by Bayer, a global company with core competences in the life sciences, health and agriculture.
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