As part of the Agrytech Accelerator Program, ten startups participated in the ‘Investment Competition’ a yearly activity organized by Berytech, a simulation of an actual investment competition. The event helps startups experience real-life investor pitch conditions with experts posing as investors, where the simulation allows them to practice their pitches and receive feedback from experts.
Berytech has recently launched a special edition of the Agrytech Accelerator with a 6-month program that allows Agrifood entrepreneurs to grow their startup from an idea into a scalable business.
The program, under Berytech’s ACT Smart Innovation Hub, co-funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, aims at strengthening business advancement and job creation in the Agri-food sector in Lebanon.
Investment Competition
This year, Berytech digitized the investment competition experience and used the ‘CleanCoin’ platform designed specifically for such events, simulating a virtual currency for the investors to use during their tour of the startups.
Ramy Boujawdeh, COO of Berytech participated as an investor alongside 18 other industry leaders and experts in business and agrifood innovation. Each investor had a virtual one-million-dollar worth of ‘CleanCoin’ investment money. Investors visited the booth of every startup, discovered their ideas, and invested in the startups based on factors such as innovation, team, and scalability.
The top three startups who raised the highest investments are ‘Little Melly’ in the first place, and ‘Pawpots’ in the second while ‘REMER’ and ‘Legendairy’ shared the third place.
“The startups participating in this event are very innovative and have brilliant ideas. I know most of them from social media and I am glad that I had the chance to meet others. They are all capable of scaling their innovative ideas and facing the economic challenges in Lebanon” stated Lynda Achkouty, Certified Business Coach.
Participating Startups
The ten startups presented innovative solutions across the agrifood sector: Balamida, Brisky, Kenza Kitchen, Legendairy, Little Melly, PawPots, REMER, Safran Du Liban, SunCode, and Whitelogs.
Lara El Khoury, Deputy Program Director for the ACT Smart Innovation Hub at Berytech, thanked the teams for their efforts: “I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of the startups and investors who participated in the competition. You are doing something we all are keen to develop and support. Lebanon needs people like you who will make a difference and make the country a better one. We believe in what you are doing and Berytech is always here to support you.”
Moving To Phase 2
By mid-September 2022, Berytech will choose six startups to go through the final phase of the program. This incubation and growth phase is scheduled over three months, with up to $20,000 awarded in matching grants to the teams who will work on their scaleup. This phase is crucial in helping the participants become investment-ready, receive equity and non-equity funding from venture capital or angel investors, and finally go on a soft-landing program in the Netherlands.
The Agrytech Program
Berytech designed and developed the Agrytech program to make sure Lebanon has the most competitive companies that are sourcing, solving, growing, and transforming food, as well as innovating and feeding the world from Lebanon. The Agrytech Accelerator Program is under the ACT Smart Innovation Hub, an out-of-the-box approach by Berytech, co-funded by the Kingdom of The Netherlands, which aims at strengthening business advancement and job creation in the Agri-food and Cleantech sectors in Lebanon. Berytech supports innovations across these sectors by offering startups the resources, knowledge, support, and funding worth around $100K, necessary to scale their ideas and grow them to penetrate international markets.
