Of the 120+ applicants to the second batch of the Agrytech Accelerator, only 27 were chosen to join the first phase of the year-long program. As a first step into the entrepreneurial world, the 27 teams will be given all the tools necessary to validate their startups in these first 2 months.

Phase 1 kicked off with a 4-day customized Bootcamp, scheduled in two intervals to accommodate all 27 teams, led by trainers Carlos Azevedo and Nadine Asmar of IES Social Business School accompanied by mentors from the Agrytech and Berytech teams.

The four days accommodated an intensive schedule, composed of several moments of learning for the teams – inspirational, theoretical and practical – leading them to turn their ideas into effective innovations.

The 10-session program required (and received!) the full commitment of the participants. It started with the entrepreneurial journey, an overview of what it takes to succeed in the entrepreneurial world: resilience, creativity, passion, energy and optimism, all characteristics of people driven to develop solutions with societal impact. The teams then worked on analyzing the problem that their startup addresses and how the solutions that their startups propose provide value in the lives of their target audiences. The teams worked on developing sustainable solutions, matched with key resources and partnerships and built in their business model. They learned that five dimensions are important to assess the potential of their business model to generate value: scalability, sustainability, Impact multiplier, reliability and replicability. They also learned how to test their solutions and come out with a working prototype. They worked on allocating resources and setting budgets to meet their goals. Finally, the teams worked on creating an optimized elevator pitch.

Super excited teams pitched on the final day to a live jury of experts, professionals and financial advisors who graded the pitches and gave them their feedback. Feedback varied from re-assessing the business model to re-evaluating the prototype to improving presentation skills. Top performers were rewarded with the symbolic boot, the mascot of the Bootcamp.

From the 27 teams, only 15 teams will be given the possibility of moving to phase 2, the acceleration phase, which will allow them to launch their startup giving them an additional 4 months of business support and an extra $16K in funds. From there, up to 8 teams will be granted access to the third and final phase, the post-acceleration phase, where founders will work on growing their startups, receiving 6 months of incubation and $22K in matching capital.

Full picture album is available here.