Interested? Below we dive into the various funding opportunities.
StartLife is a gateway to funding for Foodtech & Agritech startups. We provide loans, access to investors and support in leveraging non-equity funding.
In short, we offer…
Startup Loans
- Apply for StartLife’s Pre-seed Loan for Agrifoodtech Startups
- Apply for Startup Loan for Wageningen Students
Access to investors
- Utilize our Food & Agri Investors network
- Connect with Investors at F&A Next
Non-equity funding
- Rabobank Innovation Fund
- Grant application and funding advice
StartLife’s Pre-seed Loan for Agrifoodtech Startups
Are you looking for an attractive funding scheme to kickstart your agrifood business? In collaboration with the province of Gelderland and development agency Oost NL, Startlife offers early stage food & agtech startups founder-friendly subordinated loans. Via our joined fund, called Startup Fund Gelderland, we provide loans from €25.000 up to €250.000!
StartLife’s pre-seed loan offer:
- Subordinated loan: €100,000.-
- Interest rate: 3%
- Loan duration: 6 years
- Grace period loan and interest: 24 months
- Payback scheme: 48 months
- No co-financiering / matching required
- No personal surety required
Criteria: who can apply?
- Startups younger than 5 years
- The company is a Dutch entity
- Proposition is based on innovative technology that is protectable and scalable
- The technology aids the development of a sustainable agrifood system
We only grant pre-seed loans in combination with coaching and guidance via one of StartLife’s support programs: StartLife Accelerate or StartLife à la Carte.
If funding is granted, you may also want to benefit from the knowledge and experience of world-renowned corporates and investors from the agriculture and food industry, as well as researchers and talents at Wageningen University & Research. We are happy to make the connections.
Interested? Contact us via the form at the bottom of this page. We’ll set up a call or meeting to discuss things further with you.
Student Startup Loan for Wageningen Students
Are you a (Phd) student or recent graduate from Wageningen University & Research and looking for money to fund your first startup activities? Then you can apply for a Student Startup Loan up to €8.000.
Criteria for application
- Student or recent graduate (<2 years) of Wageningen University & Research
- Not been registered with your startup at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce for over 5 years
- Innovative product (not solely service)
Click here for more information about the Student Startup Loan.
Utilize our Food & Agri Investors Network
Are you planning an investment round for your agritech or foodtech startup? StartLife has close ties to an extensive international network of investors to which we can provide warm introductions. Some of the world’s leading agrifoodtech investors have even partnered up with StartLife to have a front row seat in the world of agrifoodtech startups.
If you’re looking for investors that can provide you seed or growth capital, then make sure to reach out to us. We might just be able to introduce you to the right investors.
Meet Investors at F&A Next
Each May, StartLife co-organizes the F&A Next summit on Wageningen Campus. F&A Next is Europe’s premier summit where hundreds of startups and scale-ups, investors and corporates in the Food and Agricultural domain from all over the world come together to share insights, build connections and explore partnerschip opportunities. Startups can also apply to pitch their innovation to the audience and be granted the title “Next Hero in Food/Agtech”
Want to receive updates about future F&A Next activities? Then subscribe to the F&A Next newsletter.
Non-equity funding
– Rabobank Innovation Fund
Startups typically find it difficult to get approved for a loan in their earliest stages, because they’re unable to show proven results and have insufficient cash flow at the time. These companies can turn to the Rabobank Innovation fund. The fund can grant €20 million in subordinated loans (AIL); which is enough to boost hundreds of young companies every year. This involves loans between €25,000 and €150,000, for which no collateral is required and no repayments must be made in the first two years.
– Grant application and funding advice
If you want to optimize your long-term funding strategy than check the services of our program partner Catalyze: a consultancy firm that provides support in grant application and funding advice to innovative businesses in life sciences, agri, food and bioeconomy. Catalyze helps innovative researchers and companies secure financing for ambitious R&D projects, from early-stage up to growth stage. Their goal is to prioritize specific short-term and long-term R&D activities in organizations and to use the best funding opportunities as building block for these activities.