In March StartLife partner Shift Invest launched their third fund for impactful early-stage startups: SHIFT III. It is expected that the fund will manage EUR 65 million by the end of the year, which makes it the largest impact investment fund in the Netherlands. Wageningen & University & Research and Rabobank, two other StartLife partners, … Continue reading Dutch Largest Impact Investment Fund for Early Startups Is Launched →

Innovative Food- and AgTech startups from all over the world are invited to apply for showcasing themselves at the fifth edition of F&A Next on May 13-14, 2020 in Wageningen (the Netherlands). In total 16 most promising Food- & AgTech startups will be selected to pitch their innovations on stage. F&A Next attracts an international … Continue reading F&A Next Opens Call for Next Heroes in Food & AgTech 2020 →

On 6 December Unilever, corporate partner of StartLife since 2018, opened their new Global Foods Innovation Center next door to StartLife. The center was officially opened by His Majesty the King of the Netherlands. Our managing director Jan Meiling, together with senior management of Unilever, was given the opportunity to discuss the value of open … Continue reading Unilever Opens Global Foods Innovation Center Next Door To StartLife →

Innovative ideas do not always lead to completely developed projects, due to lack of time and / or creative energy. Students of Wageningen University & Research may offer a solution to this problem. In different courses, BSc and MSc students work in groups on a project supplied by external commissioners. Education Project Services (Onderwijsloket) is … Continue reading Free Research Capacity: Wageningen Student Projects →

After two years of preparation and development nutrition startup Verdi Food has launched their platform for evidence-based personalized nutrition planning: Verdify. The platform empowers patients with a chronic medical condition to easily implement medically prescribed diets in their daily routine. Verdify will also soon be integrated with a large Dutch supermarket. This will allow users … Continue reading Personalized Nutrition Planning Platform Verdify Has Launched →

Crickets, can you eat them? Unique, savory and nutty, and above all one of the most sustainable and nutritious alternatives in the protein transition. The Wageningen ‘Eetcafé H41’ puts the juicy cricket burger (‘Krekelburger’) of De Krekerij on the map, and invites you to a delicious meal and a good story behind the notorious burger. … Continue reading Taste Cricket burgers at Eetcafé H41! →

StartLife has started a group page on Linkedin where we will post all national and international events relevant for our startups. We invite all our (alumni) startups and network partners to become a member of this group. You can find the group via: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13745115/

Solving the Protein Puzzle on a Global Level A global “return” to balance in protein consumption; less animal and more vegetable. During the third international edition of the Foodvalley Summit: The Protein Plan(et), on 17 October 2019 in Wageningen, food producers, growers, breeders, investors, research institutes and the government are coming together, in Wageningen, to … Continue reading Foodvalley Summit: The Protein Plan(et) →

The most exciting innovations are coming from small startups who are largely unknown to the wider industry. Now in its fourth year, the Fi Global Startup Innovation Challenge 2019 will give startups the opportunity to pitch their idea to the whole host of F&B industry players that make up Fi Europe’s 1,700+ exhibitors and 30,000+ … Continue reading Join StartLife at the Fi Global Startup Innovation Challenge 2019 →

Are you an innovative food or agri start-up or scale-up? A future maker with a promising idea? Then you are the ideal candidate for the Topsector T&U Innovation Prize! Topsector T&U invites new technical innovations that demonstrably increase the efficiency of food production in a greenhouse environment in order to meet global food demand in … Continue reading Join the Topsector T&U Innovation Prize and win € 25,000 research budget and a wildcard for the StartLife Accelerate Programme →

Jij zorgt er voor dat de missie van StartLife vertaald wordt naar alles wat wij doen Onze missie is om ondernemerschap te bevorderen in de voedsel- en landbouwsector en om ondernemers en hun teams te ondersteunen bij het transformeren van innovatieve ideeën in ondernemingen met een wereldwijde impact. Jij kunt daarbij een belangrijke rol spelen! … Continue reading Vacature: Digital Marketing & Communications Manager →

Agri-Tech Startups wanted for Agricultural event! The Dutch Embassy is looking for Agri-Tech startups who want to discover the Irish Agri-market. The National Ploughing Championships (NPC) is Ireland’s biggest agriculture event and the largest agricultural open-air event in Europe. This year the NPC will take place in Carlow, Ireland from September 17-19. One of the … Continue reading Agri-Tech Startups wanted for Agricultural event in Ireland →

The six most important Dutch university incubators, including StartLife, will collaborate with Fundsup, a platform that brings startups into contact with investors. The other incubators are YES!Delft, Bright Move in Eindhoven, Novel-T from Twente, the Amsterdam ACE Incubator and UtrechtInc. Fundsup is a platform that brings startups into contact with investors. With the partnership, StartLife’s … Continue reading StartLife and five other prominent Dutch university-linked Incubators commit to Fundsup →

Supermarket chain presents futuristic sustainable products from June 27, during the ‘FutureGoods’ week Amsterdam, June 18 2019 – Insects, granola with mealworm powder, seaweed wraps, socks made from recycled fishing nets and ‘rescue food’. Supermarket chain Lidl organizes the ‘FutureGoods’ week from June 27, in collaboration with incubator StartLife. During this week special, sustainable and … Continue reading Insects, seaweed wraps and socks made from old fishing nets on the shelves at Lidl →

With pleasure we look back at a successful and fruitful 4th edition of F&A Next 2019. With the most inspiring speakers from the industry and ample opportunity to make contacts, these two days proved to be very fruitful. Take a look at the F&A Next website to see the photos and the video impression. F&A … Continue reading Looking back on a fruitful F&A Next 2019 →

Educational Project Services, part of Wageningen University and Research, connects external stakeholders to courses of Wageningen University & Research. In these courses, groups of students can work on real-life assignments, and thereby apply their academic knowledge. In the course Data Management, MSc-students pick their own practical assignment to design and build a database for a … Continue reading Contact with students via Education Project Services →

Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is selling its share in coatings company Surfix to market parties Qurin Diagnostics and LioniX International. WUR will remain involved in the further growth of its spin-off. The sale is consistent with WUR’s policy to develop knowledge generated within the university and make it available to the business community to … Continue reading WUR sells share in Surfix spin-off →

Last week, Fabian Lindner of Zzinga, one of our startups, was invited to have lunch with His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima. Once a year, they have an ‘uitblinkerslunch’ (luminaries lunch) with people who have been given a prize for their achievements to show their appreciation for these special people. Fabian was … Continue reading Founder Zzinga invited for lunch with the royal couple for excellent performance →

Unilever has chosen to become an active participant of the Wageningen Foods Innovation ecosystem. Being close to Wageningen University, worldwide Food Science & Technology university number 1, to tap into strong international knowledge and talent, Unilever opens its doors for others and approach others where they don’t have all the answers. This way, Unilever would … Continue reading Make use of Unilever’s Pilot Plant →

Are you an innovative (starting) entrepreneur and do you want to launch your product better and faster at the market? You should consider testing your innovation at a festival. Innofest sees these festivals as temporary societies, with their own energy grid, logistics, water infrastructure, waste and thousands of test subjects. A dynamic and measurable environment … Continue reading Test prototypes or innovations during one of our Innofest festivals →

PRESS RELEASE, Wageningen, March 18, 2019 Eight new food & agtech startups for StartLife’s Accelerate Program A microbiologist producing sustainable proteins from micro-organisms and a technician who developed a robot for automated harvesting in greenhouses: just two of the eight promising high-tech startups selected to participate in the second StartLife Accelerate Program. It is the … Continue reading Boosting the Dutch innovation climate →

The past weeks at StartHub were dedicated to the Realisation Program where students were challenged to realize their validated propositions. During the Startup Week, nine entrepreneur(ial) teams dedicated their time to learn more about sustainable business models, pitching, negotiating and implementing this knowledge to tweak their business plan. During the prototyping weekend a week later, … Continue reading Startup Week 2019 →

Education Project Services connects projects and assignments from society with the study programs of Wageningen University & Research. A company, startup, foundation or other societal partner that wants to start a project or assignment with students from the university, can enlist the help of Education Project Services. Education Project Services asserts whether the question is … Continue reading Education Project Services →

At the CROP Innovation & Business conference on April 14-16, 2019 at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam you’re able to meet up with the international Agri-Food sector and explore business opportunities. Encounter new ideas. Expand your network. Engineer opportunities. During this bi-annual conference the most influential trends that will affect crop innovation and value chain strategies … Continue reading Meet up with the Agri-Food sector at the CROP Innovation & Business conference →

Thanks to the Rabobank Sustainable Innovation Award, the possibility of making a difference in society as well as in the sector comes a step closer. The Rabobank Sustainable Innovation Award 2019 is awarded in three categories: 1. Food & Agri Innovations for sustainable agriculture and food supply Innovations aimed at: Improving food production by using … Continue reading Rabobank Sustainable Innovation Award →

Meet StartLife and 10 Dutch Food & Agtech champion startups in San Francisco! StartLife is organising a startup mission to San Francisco, inviting 10 prominent Dutch Food & Agtech startups to one of the most relevant podia in the world.   We are presenting the selected startup companies supported by Startlife, as part of the … Continue reading World-Agri Tech Innovation Summit & Future Food-Tech →