MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme

Application Deadline: January 6, 2025

Programme Overview

Goumbook’s MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme aims to empower, upskill researchers, students and innovators that are addressing fundamental agricultural challenges of the MENAT region.

We are looking at innovative research, science & nature-based solutions tackling food & water security, soil health, climate change mitigation and adaptation, carbon sequestration, salinity, desertification, biodiversity loss, and rural social welfare.

The programme runs from January 2025 to May 2025, with participants expected to commit time to training, workshops, mentorship sessions, and key deliverables.

The MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme is in partnership with HSBC, Saudi Awwal Bank; supported by the European Institute of Technology (EIT) Food & the High Level Climate Champions Team.

Solution Categories

Solutions can be process driven or technological, across these examples of regenerative agriculture themes and topic examples:

• Healthy soil regeneration
• Diversified crops
• Organic & Bio Fertilisers
• Develop biodiversity
• Sustainable food security
• Use fewer chemicals
• Enhances water security
• Use organic waste
• Integrate livestock & agroforestry: Silvopasture
• Reinforce carbon capture
• Enhance rural & social welfare
• Reduces desertification & salinity
• Reduction of synthetic pesticides for disease control
• Technological solutions

Key Benefits

• Upskilling: Support in validating your solution, develop business skills to evolve your research into an impact-driven proof of concept
• Acceleration: Access potential funding & incubation
• Community: Access to online digital community platform
• Courses: Access to a range of online self-paced courses
• Exposure: Regional exposure & networking across the programme
• Mentorship: Specialist entrepreneurial training and world-class mentorship
• Talks: Subject matter expert talks & workshops on innovation, regenerative agriculture & entrepreneurship
• Grants: Top 3 Winners win one of three, $20,000

Join this transformative journey to develop regenerative and entrepreneurial skills in the domain of research-based agriculture solutions.

Application Process

1. Register Interest: Start by completing a form, gain access to exclusive free self- paced courses and resources on the learning platform
2. Complete Application: Complete an application form providing detailed information about your research. Application closes January 6^th 2025.
3. Onboarding Session: Selected Top 20 Participants participants will receive further instructions to attend an online onboarding session beginning February 2025.
4. Bootcamp 1 & Mentorship: Selected Top 20 Participations will join online from February to March online
5. Bootcamp 2 & Mentorship: Selected Top 10 participants will join online from mid-April to May
6. Final Pitch & Awards ceremony will take place end May 2025 at the MENAT Regenerative Agriculture Conference.

Eligibility Criteria

We seek impactful research, science and nature-based solutions that meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Profile: Researchers and innovators looking to scale and develop their research to a proof of concept stage and funding by enhancing their skills in business and entrepreneurship.
• Domain: Solutions in the domain of food systems & regenerative agriculture
• Solution type: Solution is rooted in research, science or nature based innovative solutions. Solutions can be process or technological innovations.
• Regional Relevance: Solutions must be applicable and valid to agricultural challenges, opportunities, and conditions within the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT) region. Countries exclusions: Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Sudan, and Syria.