Women across Europe are building innovative solutions in agrifood — yet many still lack access to the support, visibility and networks needed to scale. The EWA — Empowering Women in Agrifood program from EIT Food was designed to change that.
It is open to women from selected European and neighbouring countries (in 2025, 13 countries including Albania, Estonia, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye and Ukraine).
Participants benefit from a comprehensive curriculum including online training modules, one-on-one mentorship (over 20 hours) from business and agrifood advisors, and a strong networking component through an established community of more than 500 mentors and female entrepreneurs.
The programme also offers funding opportunities (country-level prizes of €10,000 and €5,000) and access to investors and corporate partnerships.
In our latest podcast, we spoke with Alicja Krakowska, Project Manager at EIT Food North-East, as well as two founders whose journeys highlight how transformative this programme can be.
Débora Campos, CEO and founder of AgroGrIN Tech, entered EWA while still validating her technology for upcycling fruit sidestreams into clean-label food ingredients. The programme helped her refine her business model, connect with suppliers, and move toward building a pilot facility capable of producing ingredients at scale.
Meanwhile, Greta Budreike, founder of TASTIK, joined with the goal of creating alternative protein products made from crickets to support healthy ageing and nutritional needs. Watch/listen to our latest Tech.eu podcast to hear firsthand how EWA is helping women turn bold agrifood ideas into real, scalable businesses.
Accelerating innovation through women's leadership
The upcoming Next Bite Satellite in Warsaw will gather 13 EWA Innovators, investors, partners, and leaders from across the European agrifood ecosystem.
The event is designed as a space for dialogue, shared learning, and meaningful networking, with a dedicated focus on advancing women’s leadership in agrifood innovation.
Across its Inspire and Empower stages, attendees will have access to panel discussions with investors, conversations on gender equity and sustainable innovation, and presentations from women-led startups.
The in-person format also enables participants to schedule one-to-one meetings and connect directly with peers, experts, and ecosystem partners.
Those interested in taking part can explore the full agenda and registration details through the event page.
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