The grand finale of the Graines d’Agro competition for innovative ideas took place on Tuesday, March 7 at 6:00 p.m. at Institut Agro Montpellier’s La Gaillarde campus. Nine finalists were invited to pitch their ideas to the public.
A nationwide competition
Organized by the Agro Institute, its foundation, the alumni association, and several partners, this competition was open to innovative projects in the fields of agriculture, food, and the environment. Its goal is to encourage and support students and recent graduates who would like to contribute to the ecological transition by developing an original and innovative idea to support agro-ecological, food, digital, climate, energy, economic, and social transformations so that we can live in a more preserved environment.This year, 30 candidates applied, and 16 projects were pre-selected. After the pre-selection phase, participants gave an oral presentation in February before a jury made up of business creation specialists (BIC, ADD’OC, AIRDIE, France active, BPI France, Banque Populaire du Sud, CIRAD, EY Ventury, Incub one line, Positiy, and SATT Ax-LR), along with event partners (Groupama Méditerranée, University of Montpellier, Pepite LR, the AgroSYS chair, Système U, Singular Planet, Nijhuis Saur Industries France, EDF Renouvelables, and INRAE). Thanks to support provided by its partners, the Graine d’Agro competition was endowed with 12,500 € to be distributed among competition winners.
Nine winning projects with high added value
The projects selected for the final were ranked and assessed by category: the “Initiative” category dedicated to projects with a social, educational, or solidarity-based focus; the “Hope” category dedicated to entrepreneurial student projects; and the “Excellence” category, which includes projects presented by recent graduates. The nine projects qualified for the final are OLGAE, Tract’moi, BioHap, AFICO, Studio Hespéride, Nutri Expérience, FiltrOnut, Calv Tec, and Aquaalim.These projects will benefit from assistance and guidance from the AgroVallée incubator, which was created through the recent merger of the school’s two incubators – AgroValo Méditerranée and Capp’O Sud – in order to revitalize partnership dynamics at the Agro Montpellier Institute. During the award ceremony, Raphaël Girardin, in charge of entrepreneurship, unveiled the new logo of this new entity he leads.
