Athens, May 9, 2019 – The U.S. Embassy in collaboration with the Netherlands Embassy is organizing a series of programs focused on startup entrepreneurship in the agri-tech and food sector, in Athens and Thessaloniki, May 13-15. Under the title #FarmingtheFuture, the programs are official ‘Road to GES” events celebrating the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which will take place in The Hague June 4-5 (www.ges2019.org).
On May 14 at 6:00 p.m. in Athens, the pitching competition “The Squeeze” will take place at the Orange Grove, the international startup incubator founded by the Netherlands Embassy. Eight agri-food startups will go head-to-head on Orange Grove’s stage, pitching their business ideas to a panel of distinguished judges from the U.S., the Netherlands and Greece.
The panel of distinguished judges includes:
– Alphons van Broekhoven, Director at Reggeborgh (Netherlands)
– Amu Fowler, Managing Director at ViveDC (U.S.)
– Arjan de Jong, Specialist Lead Data & Analytics at Vattenfall (Netherlands)
– Marisa Antonopoulou, Business Development Manager at Action Finance Initiative (Greece)
Jan Franke, a Dutch journalist in the field of Technology and Innovation and a startup enthusiast and mentor based in Tel Aviv, will be the presenter of the competition.
The judges will be discussing their experiences and the challenges they faced during their path to success at the “Orange Stories” event, held the day before the competition on May 13 at 6:00 p.m. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to attend to meet the judges and ask them questions..
Both events are open to the public and entry is free. Please sign up early on at Eventbrite!
“The Squeeze” https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-squeeze-tickets-46398106987
Orange Stories https://www.eventbrite.com/e/orange-stories-tickets-60194154336
In Thessaloniki, on May 15 at 5:00 p.m., the U.S. Consulate General in collaboration with the Netherlands Embassy, the American farm School, Orange Grove and the Rutgers University program “New Agriculture for a New Generation” are organizing a workshop for agri-food startups at the American Farm School. American entrepreneur and mentor Amu Fowler, together with Philippos Papadopoulos, Director of the Strategic Project Management Office of the American Farm School, and Effie Lazaridou, Managing Director, New Agriculture for a New Generation, Rutgers University, will discuss educational opportunities for agri-food entrepreneurs, share information on exports and investments, as well as on incorporating new technologies in the field.
The workshop is open to the public. For registrations and inquiries contact koutsounanouie@state.gov
The three programs in Athens and Thessaloniki are official “Road to GES” events, highlighting the strong partnership between the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the U.S. Government in organizing the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (www.ges2019.org) in The Hague, June 4-5, 2019. The theme of GES 2019 is The Future Now, and it will attract 2,000 entrepreneurs, investors, policy makers, and innovation ecosystem partners in five focus sectors: Agri-Food, Connectivity, Energy, Health, and Water. Access to finance, job creation and women’s economic empowerment will be overarching themes.
***
