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News article31 May 2021European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency

VIDA: Strengthening Innovation in Food Chains

The H2020 INNOSUP funded project VIDA celebrated its final event on 18 and 19 May 2021. The project showcased successful SMEs and looked towards the future.

The VIDA project aimed at using key enabling technologies to develop and strengthen new industrial value chains in food production. Their focus lay on the “VIDA nexus”: the intersection of water, energy, and food. In total VIDA provides more than EUR 3.3 million  as direct financial support to 108 SMEs, through innovation vouchers. More than 420 SMEs benefited from indirect innovation support (such as advisory services, coaching, trainings, participation in matchmaking events and various workshops) in the context of the project activities.

The innovations developed and scaled thanks to VIDA, included cases on:

  • Greenhouse management;
  • Alternative food production and sustainable agriculture;
  • Aquaculture;
  • Livestock;
  • Wineries and breweries.

At the final event, awarded SMEs pitched their successful innovations and acceleration projects that already making food production value chains more efficient and sustainable. You can see all VIDA’s beneficiaries and supported innovation projects on the VIDA website.

The event ended with a series of fruitful matchmaking and B2B meetings.

Even though this was marked as VIDA’s final event, the project lifespan is far from over. VIDA announced an alumni network to keep innovation going, maintain close relationships between SMEs and advisors, and obtain faster matchmaking and better networking. The goal is to move from the VIDA nexus to Next VIDA which will focus on the EU green deal, trusted environments, circular economy, and safe and sustainable design.

Take a look at the video to know more about VIDA!

And to take a look at their final event:

 

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