The ACT FOODTECH organization, which aids food-tech entrepreneurships to expand their company's international reach and the COPIA Fund for Agricultural and Food Technologies, an agri-food tech investor, teamed together to create the initiative, with the support of Strauss, Tnuva, Amazon AWS, Mondelez, and other companies.
“The percentage of women entrepreneurs in the Israeli ecosystem is only 8%. The food-tech industry is growing significantly with a sharp increase in investments in Israel and around the world, so this is the opportunity for women to enter the field,” Carmit Oron, ACT FoodTech CEO said of the initiative.
Six finalists, who were given marketing and strategy counseling, will present their startups in the competition and the winner will receive a $200,000 investment from COPIA.
“We see a high representation of brilliant women in academia, especially in the field of food and agriculture, so there is also a real opportunity for innovation and business," Oron added.
Here is a rundown of the six finalist agri-food tech companies:
1. Maolac uses bioinformatics to identify and replicate proteins found in breastmilk for powdered blends.
“Imagine a world where your food is enriched with mullet protein that contributes to coping and immunity protection, improved vision, prevents bone thinning, treats skin problems and a variety of other uses; that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Maolac's head, Maya, said.
She explained that the company's products can help improve "quality of life in terms of lifestyle and longevity."
2. Biotipac's technology guarantees a longer natural shelf-life for food and agricultural products by introducing a food substrate for "good bacteria," similar to a probiotic. These bacteria spread in the place of "food spoilers," and in this manner, can act as a non-chemical preservative.
3. IncrediBowl boasts edible cups and bowls produced from organic, raw materials and leftovers of the food industry.
4. Yo-egg is an artificially produced chicken egg clone, with the same taste, texture and nutritional value as a real egg. It's the only such lab-produced egg in the world, as its development is quite challenging.
5. Fermata's artificial intelligence system monitors greenhouse plants for disease and other issues, to reduce the waste of diseased food and offer quality pesticide and chemical free produce.
6. BugEra is a Beersheba biotechnology company that genetically engineers strains of the black soldier fly, which break down organic manure into biodiesel for sustainable solutions in energy, agriculture and food industries.
Hamutal Gozlan will direct competition efforts.