EIT Food will reward SMEs and start-ups that work in the value chain of the olive sector in Europe

This European prize, worth EUR 4 000, has been included in the Juan Ramón Guillén Foundation Awards.

The deadline for candidate submissions is 15 September 2020.

This year, for the first time, EIT Food will collaborate with the Juan Ramón Guillén Foundation Awards, with the aim of including a new European category. The new prize is called ‘New Business Ideas Transforming the Olive Value Chain Award’ and it is focused on start-ups and SMEs working along the value chain of the olive sector in Southern Europe.

The value of the prize is EUR 4 000, consisting of a direct payment of EUR 2 000  and the participation in a mentoring program which is worth a further EUR 2 000. The deadline to submit applications is15 September 2020, and the rules can be found here.

EIT Food Award nominees can be rooted in different fields: from cultivation to processing, and from distribution to retail. The key is that “with their innovative activity they transform the value chain of the olive sector in Europe”, as the rules of the prize explain. The award will reward a company that “through its innovation is changing one or several parts of the value chain, making it better for the environment and/or for people’s health”.

The Juan Ramón Guillén Foundation Awards have two other partners, Caja Rural de Jaén and Coosur. This is the second edition of the awards, that seek to reward initiatives that contribute to the development and improvement of the olive sector, which is strategic in the Spanish and Andalusian economy. 

In addition to the European EIT Food Award, the Juan Ramón Guillén Foundation Awards include three other national awards: the Young Farmer Award, with a 4,000 euro prize; the Rural Innovation in the Olive Sector Award, with another 4,000 euros; and the Professional Career Award, with a special mention.

Check out the Juan Ramón Guillén Foundation Awards website here for more information.