Beirut, Dec 18, 2017 – STARTCHY, a startup producing a 100% bioliquid product used as a natural edible coating to extend the shelf life of perishable produces was named Lebanese Agripreneur of the Year 2017 part of the Future Agro Challenge (FAC) – a global competition for food and agribusiness startups in more than 60 countries addressing national, regional and global challenges.
The competition was launched in Beirut in July 2017 through the Agrytech Program – jointly funded by Berytech and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lebanon.
FAC provides key tools and opportunities to help your startup grow its business and expand it into new markets. FAC is working to make a difference on a global level by increasing interaction amongst agro innovators, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders by addressing national policies and challenges.
Six finalists were shortlisted to compete for the title Lebanese Agripreneur of the Year, pitching in front of a jury during an event held at the Startup Weekend in Bekaa. First prize of $2000 went to Richardos Lebbos for STARTCHY, and the runner up prize of $1000 went to Selim Yasmine for 209 Lebanese Wine, an online platform promoting more than 40 Lebanese wineries.
Pitching startups also included Benergy, a startup turning coffee waste into clean energy; Lili’s Farm, propagating organic agriculture in earth sheltered grow rooms; The Good Thymes, a startup with a modern approach to harvesting, packaging and selling Lebanese thyme; and Freekey, a startup producing wholesome snacks based on freekeh supergrain.
The competition was open for Ideas in Food Tech, Ag Tech, Agroforestry, And Husbandry, Food or Beverage Product Or Retail, Nutrition & Health, Safety And Health, Packaging And Logistics, Agriculture Education, Food Security And Sustainability, Agriculture Tourism, Food Waste, and finally Agriculture Production And Processing.
Competition judges included Michel Daher – owner of Daher Foods, Pierre Njeim – Specialty Fertilizers Line Manager for MENA at UNIFERT, Najah Jarroush Abdouni – owner of Tassamim, Dr. Hady Khalaf – Digital Transformation Director of Bel Group Middle East and Africa, Said Gedeon – Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture of Zahlé & the Bekaa, Dr. Maya Kharrat – Director of ESIAM – USJ; and Kim Issa – External Relations Manager at arcenciel.
STARTCHY will compete internationally for the title of the “Agripreneur of the Year” at the Global Agripreneurs Summit, taking place at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Turkey on April 16-19, 2018.
http://berytech.org/competitions/fac/
About BERYTECH
Berytech is the ecosystem for entrepreneurs, providing a dynamic environment for the creation and development of startups, fostering innovation, technology and entrepreneurship.
Since Berytech’s inception in 2002, they have housed a repertoire of more than 300 entities, assisted more than 3,000 entrepreneurs in several outreach programs, created more than 1600 job opportunities, granted more than $600K+ to startups and have been investing more than $70M in Lebanese technology companies.
Member of the European Business Network, Berytech was the first in the region to receive EU accreditation as a Business Innovation Center (BIC). Berytech is also Gold member of the InBIA, the largest member-based entrepreneurial support network in the world.
www.berytech.org
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About Agrytech
Launched on January 19, 2017, the Agrytech Program aims to source the top startups with disruptive innovations in the Agri-Food sector and provide them with the adequate technical and business resources as well as community support to scale their ideas into successful businesses with global impact. The Program is funded by Berytech and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lebanon.
Batch I of the Agrytech Program started in April 2017 when seventeen startups out of 62 applicants were given the opportunity to build a minimum viable product over the period of two months with a $3,300 validation grant. For phase 2, only eleven of these startups went into a 4 months acceleration program to validate concept, each receiving $16,000 as support grant. In November, seven finalists were selected to join the 6 months incubation program, to experience potential internationalization, and benefit from investment.
In sum, the program provides up to $40K in grants and up to one year of support for each startup.
Learn more about the Agrytech program by visiting the website www.agrytech.org