After an exciting three-month program and intensive preparation, the eagerly anticipated moment finally arrived. We welcomed attendees to the 5th Demo Day held at our headquarters in Hannover. This year's event for RootCamp Batch #5 brought together a multitude of stakeholders from our valued partnership network, uniting a diverse audience ranging from local startups and academic representatives to corporate collaborators. In the vibrant atmosphere of the event, the spotlight was focused on the values of innovation, collaboration, and the exciting potential for cross-industry synergy.

EuroTier/EnergyDecentral is the leading livestock and energy fair organized by DLG (German Agricultural Society/Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft) every two years in Hanover. Over 1,800 exhibitors from 57 countries were present and around 106,000 visitors from 141 countries come by. An impressive performance for the first EuroTier after 4 years break due to a COVID-19!

Get to know Caspar Olenhusen! He is one of RootCamp's startup coaches, with a passion for agriculture since his childhood. During his career in different countries like the USA and the UK, he collected a wide amount of knowledge and know-how to coach startups in the agribusiness and agtech scene.

For Batch#3 we got 250 applications from 58 countries worldwide! We are extremely grateful for your interest in our program and the choice was definitely not easy for us. Together with our partners, we have selected seven promising startups. The business ideas are driven by innovative technologies with a major impact on the agricultural industry. In the coming months our mentors, corporate partners and industry experts will work with the startups on many different topics as part of our acceleration program.

Young startups face many questions at the beginning of their journey in building a successful business. Uncertainties regarding their business idea, the company presentation to potential investors, product management and employee recruiting determine the everyday life of young founders. Therefore, it is highly recommended to seek the advice of external industry experts in the early stages.

RootCamp supports startups who want to accelerate their paths to market and have a positive impact in the Agritech sector with disruptive solutions. We provide an acceleration curriculum for early stage and fuel later stage startups. We connect you with great hands-on mentors with experience in your industry. Our mentors are well-known experts who support you strategically during the program and help you to solve concrete technical or managerial problems.

Today we want to introduce you to RootCamp mentor Alexandra Vázquez Bea from our network.

Please introduce yourself.

My name is Alexandra Vázquez Bea. I hold the position of COO / CFO at Oetker Digital and previous Executive Board member for Finance, Investor Relations, Human Resources and IT at Veganz Group AG. I have over 15 years of professional and leadership experience in the finance and startup fields. Not only that, but I worked in Corporate Finance at NORD/LB for almost seven years before becoming a restructuring consultant at FTI Andersch AG. In this role, I advised on complex restructuring and refinancing projects across Europe. In 2016, I started my own company, LENCHEN – Der Lebkuchen, and led the startup to become a well-established name in the delicatessen pastry sector. Since July 2021, I have been working for Veganz Group AG as the Executive Board member responsible for Finance, IR, Human Resources and IT. Along with my entry came the official kick-off of the company's IPO, which was successfully closed in just under 4.5 months in November 2021. I am an active mentor in the startup scene.

How did you get into the AgriFood Tech industry?

My first contact with the AgriFood Tech industry was through my own startup in the delicacies business. Here I learned a lot about this industry. From the right use of raw materials over product development to the distribution and proper marketing of food products. During this time I was able to build up a good network in the food/agritech startup industry. This ultimately led to my contact with my current employer, Veganz Group AG, and I have remained loyal to the industry within my current position.

What does mentoring mean to you personally?

I have experienced the ups and downs, the ambition, but also the challenges that one is confronted with during the early startup phase myself and have learned lots of lessons during this process. I often recognize my own experiences in the situations of the startups. Furthermore, I am glad to be able to pass on my experience and knowledge to young founders. And I also do learn a lot within a mentoring process. This is a two-way street, and I appreciate the ambition and dedication of the founders to a great extent.

Why did you decide to support RootCamp startups as a mentor?

I think it's great to be able to actively support startups in developing and establishing a working business model. Through my professional experience, I know the food and AgriFood tech industry well. Therefore, RootCamp is a perfect match. Furthermore, RootCamps approach differs a lot from other accelerator programs and with its focus on mentoring gives the right impulses to the startups.

Alexandra has provided great support for our startups, especially in the area of financing.

What requirements do startups need for a successful mentoring relationship?

For a successful mentoring relationship, it is important that the people behind have confidence in their business, in themselves and in the mentoring. They have to be open-minded and willing to closely work together to identify challenges and find solutions. To get it going, of course, a certain enthusiasm and commitment must be present.

➡️ We are constantly looking for individuals willing to support founders that bring a range of skill sets to the table. If you’re interested in being a RootCamp mentor, just shoot a message to Gaia Amatteis.

Regularly, we want to present you the startups that are part of the RootCamp program. In the interview series we introduce you to the founders, their innovative technology and how RootCamp has taken the startup to the next level. This time we want to introduce you FibriTech who are part of RootCamp batch #2.

Regularly, we want to present you the startups that are part of the RootCamp program. In this interview series we introduce you to the founders, their innovative technology and how RootCamp has taken the startup to the next level. Get to know Contagra of RootCamp batch #2.

In their natural environment, plants are part of a rich ecosystem, including the most diverse and complex group ofmicroorganisms in the soil. It has been estimated that a typical gram of soil contains around 90–100 million bacteria and about 200 000 fungi, in addition to other organisms such as archaea, viruses and protozoa, with many of these organisms being located around the roots of the plants. The interactions between plants and soil microbes may be beneficial, harmful or neutral for the plants. However, beneficial soil microbes perform fundamental functions such as nitrogen-fixation, phosphorus solubilization, suppression of pests and pathogens, improvement of plant stress, and decomposition that leads to soil aggregation.

With the increase in the world's population, the demand for food, energy and water is rising as well. However, the resources available are finite and have a limited capacity to meet this growing demand. Globally, around 90 billion tonnes of primary resources are extracted and used each year, with less than 10% being recycled. In addition, agricultural and land-use changes account for around 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making the agricultural sector a major contributor to climate change.

Modern agriculture is in the process of a technological revolution. Influenced by the growing global demand of sustainable produced food, followed by the increasing costs and shortage of labour, and the regulatory pressure for the reduction of the use of agrochemicals, robotic technology is redefining quickly agricultural production.