Kickstarting for Good is ProVeg International’s new programme – and the “world’s first” incubator and accelerator – aimed specifically at nonprofit organisations, impact initiatives and social start-ups working on transforming the food system.

The programme will be run by the ProVeg Incubator – a twice-yearly accelerator programme for commercial food-tech start-ups working on plant-based, fermentation and cultivated food products, platforms and technologies.

Sebastian Joy, founding president at ProVeg International, said: “ProVeg has a long track record of kickstarting new initiatives and organisations in the food and animal advocacy sector, including the vegan lifestyle trade fair Veggie World, 50by40 – a global coalition of organisations dedicated to cutting the global production and consumption of animal products by 50% by 2040 – and the Animal & Vegan Advocacy (AVA) Summit."

ProVeg is looking to hear from candidates who either already have a high-potential idea for a new initiative or organisation, or who have the drive and desire to take forward one of the organisation’s pre-identified ideas.

“We’re looking for the best founders to execute the ideas that will have the biggest positive impact on the world’s food ecosystem,” said Albrecht Wolfmeyer, director of the ProVeg Incubator. “We’ve identified a whole series of high-impact ideas, so we invite people to apply whether they have an existing idea or not. We’ll train you and introduce you to the right people to make this big idea come to life.”

Those selected will participate in an eight-week programme with a tailor-made curriculum, expert mentoring and networking opportunities, culminating with a funding-focused Demo Day. Founders will get to team up with like-minded co-founders, spend two intensive weeks in Berlin, and receive a grant of up to €5,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs.

The programme will focus on impact, it is tailored to meet the objectives and needs of impact-focused social entrepreneurs in the alt-protein and animal advocacy space. It will feature an integrated, hands-on approach that combines incubation and acceleration together with learning and networking. The programme is part of ProVeg’s first-of-its-kind start-up incubator with a unique position and ecosystem of founders, mentors and industry professionals.

The programme delivery team of founders, funders, mentors and researchers will help participants to identify the best approaches and right co-founders, validate their idea, set budgets, dive into cost-effectiveness, develop a theory of change and learn the fundraising ropes.

What sort of initiatives does it include?

The team is open to applications from people with a range of not-for-profit ideas for transforming the food system and reducing the global consumption of animals. It also has a series of ready-made ideas for applicants to take on. These include:

• World Society for Plant-Based Chefs: a professional association of plant-based chefs

• Nutritionists Fellowship: a fellowship program to identify, support and promote promising plant-based nutrition influencers

• Accelerator for social media influencers: an organisation or program that supports vegan and plant-based influencers to increase their reach

• Marketing and comms agency for the plant-based movement: a global community of animal advocates providing marketing, communications and design expertise to accelerate plant-based initiative

• Meta-fundraising organisation: a new organisation focused on raising money for vegan advocacy organisations, initiatives and projects

• Vegan Thesis: a global platform to identify impactful thesis topics for the plant-based and farmed animal movements

• Vegan ‘Checkoff’ Programme: a programme or organisation to encourage plant-based businesses to contribute a percent of sales to marketing and public relations for plant-based eating

• Early Action Network: A reboot of the existing Early Action Network that connects and supports organisations, groups or individuals working on veg-friendly eating and food awareness education in schools

ProVeg is seeking applications now for the programme’s first cohort which will start in October this year. The closing date for applications is 22 August 2023.

Participants will be matched with experienced mentors and advisors from ProVeg’s international team and network, who are experts in non-profit management.

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