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World Championship for Agro

Business and Innovations
March 2017, Johannesburg, South Africa

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Future Agro Challenge
Serbia National Finals

GUIDELINE
18-19 November 2016
Novi Sad, Serbia

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WHAT IS
FUTURE
AGRO
CHALLENGE
The Concept
Why We Do It
The Impact
The Aims
Main Categories
Global Challenges

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The Concept
Future Agro Challenge (FAC) aims to make a
global impact by increasing interaction amongst
agro innovators, entrepreneurs, stakeholders,
and investors and by addressing national
policies and challenges. FAC is the largest
global competition that discovers innovative
fundable food, aggrotech, and agriculture
ventures from various corners of the globe
addressing national, regional and global
challenges. FAC provides key tools and
opportunities to help them grow their business
and expand them into new markets. FAC is
working to make a difference on a global level
by increasing interaction amongst agro
innovators, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders by
addressing national policies and challenges.
There is not one simple solution to any of the
complex global challenges of feeding the
estimated growing population of 9 billion people
by 2050. FAC was ignited in Greece, at the
crossing of three continents, is rich in diversity
in both wild and cultivated plant species, has
developed its botanical and agricultural
practices for millennia, and the source of the
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famous Mediterranean diet, and has grown into
a global competition. As FAC takes root in each
joining nation, the knowledge base is enriched
with a transfer of ideas and solutions. Each
nation and region bring a new perspective,
having overcome different obstacles and
offering different facets of innovation. While
disruptive solutions are being created across
regions, individuals and visionaries often feel
overwhelmed by the complexities to integrate
the agricultural ecosystem. We believe
discovering solutions to global challenges
should not be so complicated. FAC supports
agro visionaries, startups, farmers,
manufacturers, and distributors from countries
across several continents. The most promising
ideas and ventures are selected to compete in
the Global Championships for the title of
Agribusiness of the Year.

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Why We Do It
We live on the edge of food scarcity and are
slowly agitating our water and land creating a
volatile environment to growing crops.
The increase in food demand is driven by
population growth combined with economic
development and diet changes driving
alterations in diet composition and consumption
levels.
The global challenge will be to increase food
production through raising agricultural
productivity efficiently, whilst decreasing our
environmental footprint.
FAC invites you to join a dynamic international
community offering various potential solutions
to the great challenges we are facing. As there
is not one simple solution to any of these
complex challenges, our community opens a
year round dialogue into a deeper
understanding of each global challenge through
innovation, creativity and leadership.

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The Impact
Create healthier citizens and increase food
production.
Unleash entrepreneurial potential and creativity
to invent new products and services.
Provide a platform for global dialogue, transfer
of knowledge, and networking.
Encourage opportunities for employment and
education.
Address the great challenges affecting our
future.

The Aims
Spread innovation in agriculture.
Offer equal opportunity to visionaries
addressing agriculture in developed and
underdeveloped countries.
Upgrade agricultural education and training.
Revolutionize the approach to healthy lifestyle
and nutrition.
Promote business and investment
opportunities in agribusinesses.
Create a global community of experts,
investors, and innovators.

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Main Categories
Agro-tech
Agriculture Production and Processing
Nutrition & Health
Agriculture Biotech
Bio-fuels
Evergreen Practices
Robotics and Precision Agriculture
Agro Logistics
Farmer Incomes
Education
Agro-tourism
Safety & Health
Packaging

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Global Challenges
Biodiversity Loss
Agriculture has long been identified as the leading cause of
biodiversity loss and ecosystem change.
Over the last hundred years, around 75% of genetic diversity found in
agricultural crops has been lost. This loss continues through
widespread intense production, chemical processes, pollution, nutrient
loading (via fertilizers, detergents and land run-off) and introduction of
non-native species. Within agricultural ecosystems, the
homogenization in producing crops and food resources is one of the
leading causes of biodiversity loss. Today, 90% of food comes from
only 15 plant and 8 animal species, and wheat, rice and maize crops
provide more than half of the global plant-based energy intake. The
current agricultural practices also impact other ecosystems, for
example, through the use of irrigation, which puts demands on natural
water resources, or through overgrazing, as well as pollution and
nutrient loading, leading to critical conditions in local and distant
biospheres. Land and habitat conversion, towards agricultural uses,
also leads to biodiversity loss. Click here to read more about changes
in land use.
Change in land use
In the last few decades, the global change in land use has been
driven primarily by agricultural activities. This rapid expansion and
intensification has affected converted ecosystems, and poses a threat
to biodiversity, the planets climate system and its hydrological cycles.
Currently, we are using about 12% of the worlds land surface for crop
production. The proposed planetary boundary is to exceed no more
than 15%, coupled with a global program that: uses the most
productive land for agriculture preserves forests and ecosystems with
high environmental and biodiversity values maintains soil carbon and
ecosystems in healthy conditions The remaining 3% allowance refers
to abandoned cropland in Europe, North America, and North Asia and
some areas of Africas savannas and South Americas tropical eco
region.
N2 Atmosphere Cycle
Atmospheric nitrous oxide concentrations have been increasing since
the industrial revolution and currently account for 6% of total
anthropogenic radiative forcing. Microbial production in soils is the
dominant nitrous oxide source; this has increased with increasing use
of nitrogen fertilizers. However, fertilizer use alone cannot account for
the historical trends of atmospheric concentrations of nitrous oxide. As
animal protein consumption in human diets increases globally,
management of manure will be an important component of future
efforts to reduce anthropogenic nitrous oxide sources.
Climate Change
Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change and changes in
temperature and rainfall is expected to impact negatively on crop
yields, especially in developing countries. Climate-change simulations
project higher temperatures in 2050. In some regions the higher
evaporation leads to increased precipitation as this water vapor
returns to earth. With the increased temperature, the demands of
water increase for irrigated crop production. With climate change,
calorie availability is predicted to decline and impact regions
throughout the world. Prices for the most important agricultural crops
will increase by 2050, driven by population and income growth, but
also by the impact of climate change. The effects of climate change
increases rates of child malnutrition and reduces calorie consumption
dramatically. Agriculture is estimated to produce a high percentage of
global greenhouse gas emissions (including deforestation activities).
In more detail: Carbon dioxide It is estimated that 20% of CO2
emissions came from changes in land use and land management,
primarily deforestation. Methane 30% of emissions are due to
agriculture (ruminant animals and rice paddies) Nitrous oxide Use of
fertilizer accounts for about 35% of N2O emissions.
Freshwater use
Agriculture accounts for about 70% of freshwater use, the majority of
which is applied in irrigation activities. As the population grows, and
the demand for food increases, the demand for water will increase
also. Agricultural produce includes crops, livestock and fish. Crops
have specific water requirements dependant on local climate
conditions. Cereals are an important food source in developing
countries, and its production is expected to supply more than half the
food consumed in the near future. The livestock sector yields meat,
dairy products and eggs. The production of meat, however, requires
between five and twenty times more freshwater use than for cereals
and other vegetative growth. Further, a large proportion of the cereal
produced is used as animal feed. The world will continue to raise
livestock, but there is concern for how much the demand for meat and
milk consumption will grow. There are already unhealthy levels of
meat consumption in many areas around the globe.
Phosphorus flow into oceans
Runoff from agricultural fields and from animal production facilities
also contributes to water quality problems, estimated that the P
content of freshwater systems worldwide is at least 75% greater than
preindustrial levels, and that P fluxes to oceans have increased from 8
MMT per year to 22 MMT per year during the same period. Coincident
with these trends, more than 400 coastal dead zones have been
identified worldwide. Coastal dead zones are often associated with
excess nitrate in river discharge, but P also contributes to these
hypoxia and anoxia events. Closing the human P cycle at both
agricultural and wastewater stages will generate substantial societal
and economic savings in environmental costs alone.
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WHAT IS
THERE
18 November
Agro Bootcamp
FAC Serbia Semi-finals

19 November
Agro Business Conference
FAC Serbia Finals
Women`s Entrepreneurship
Day

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18 November
Get yourself to the Bootcamp!
Agro Bootcamp is a place to meet peers and
influencers from the industry.
Agro Bootcamp is a series of intensive
workshops for start-ups and entrepreneurs.
It is an opportunity to work with mentors,
professionals, successful entrepreneurs and
managers who will help you to improve and
develop your agro-business ideas.

FAC Serbia Semi-finals

New concept of the business presentation will
be introduced and practiced for the pitching
battle and best performance on the National
Finals of the Future Agro Challenge.

Registrations are open *APPLY HERE.

*Your Business Model Canvas should be uploaded into the application form: DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE

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19 November
Future of Agro Business
Conference
FAC Serbia Finals
Women`s Entrepreneurship
Day

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THE RULES
Who can Apply
Individuals
Teams (minimum two members)
Entrepreneurs (commercial or social)
Companies who develop new products,
design, technologies, services or processes.

Start-ups who want to compete on the World

Championship must have legally registered
company in Serbia by 1 February 2017.

At least one member of the team must attend

the National Finals on 19 November 2016 in
Novi Sad, otherwise the application will be
disqualified.

How to Apply
You have to fill out application:
*APPLY HERE
*Your Business Model Canvas should be uploaded into the application form: DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE

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Deadline for applications
You should submit your application no later
than 14 November 2016.

The list of Semi-Finalists will be announced on

15 November 2016. They will be invited to
participate in the Agro Bootcamp.

The language
All applications and presentations must be on
English.

Judging criteria
Applications, pitching and presentations will be
judged by local and international experts,
professional and investors.

The judging procedure will focus on several

criteria:
Idea Concept
o Idea clearly explained
Pitching Skills
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 o Persuasive and capturing presenting of
idea
Innovation
o Breakthrough in idea, business model, or
design
Scalability
o Does this business idea have a market
potential globally or regionally; what is
the capability of creating job positions
Health
o A healthy process for production or
consumption
Design
o Innovative in design
Demo
o Did the demo offer a good explanation of
the product?

Notification
Concepts whose solutions have high ethical
standards in terms of welfare and non-violence
towards people, animals and the environment
will be highly graded.

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Semi-finals
Semi-finals will be held on 18 November in Novi
Sad as part of the Agro Bootcamp.

Finals
Finals will be held on 19 November in Novi Sad
during the Future Agro Conference.

The Winner will be presented on the Gala

Award Show.

World Finals
The Winner of the FAC Serbia 2016 will be
nominated for the FAC World Championship
Finals which will be held on 13-16 March 2017
in Johannesburg during the Global
Entrepreneurship Congress.
FAC is hosted across five continents globally.
Even though all countries will be accredited in
the Global Championship, only the selected
start-ups will be pitching their idea live on stage.
The selections are made by the Global FAC
Committee.

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FAC will invite all national winners to the Global
Championships to attend the training sessions
and take part in networking opportunities.

Ten selected finalists will be selected in

January. From the ten candidates, six will be
chosen while in South Africa to battle live on
stage.

One Social Media Award will be offered to the

start-up that is most popular among all
participating countries. The Social Media Award
winner will present their idea live at the Global
Championship.

How the Battle Works

Two start-ups will battle on the same stage
against each other. The aim is for each start-up
to best answer the questions posed them.
Regardless of the idea, size or category of the
opposing start-up, each start-up must convince
the judges that their company is the best to
invest in.

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1. Each start-up is given 30 seconds to
demonstrate their idea. They must SHOW NOT
TELL. How does their product/service work?
(Hint: Creativity gives extra points! After all,
every company must know how to market and
sell.) They could demonstrate by showcasing
their product/service, showing a video,
providing a live demonstration, WHATEVER
they want, the aim is to think outside the box.
These 30 seconds are for the start-up to
decide. Time is of essence the start-up must
carefully select how to SHOW their
product/service without running into too much
detail. Leave the details for the question/answer
part.

2. Following the demonstration, the host will

pose questions as highlighted below to each
start-up. One question will be asked per round.
Each answer is to be timed accordingly as
mentioned.

We have listed points for the start-up to

consider when answering to each of the five
question, we require that you share these
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recommendations with the finalists. The start-up
is not requested to include all the listed points
nor are they limited to only mention the listed
points. Each start-up knows best what is
needed to highlight!

Round 1 (30 sec)

NEED: What problem does your product
solve? National, Regional, Global?
What is unique about the company?
What big problem does it solve?
How big is the market opportunity?
What do your customers need and how do you know for sure?
Why do users care about your product/service?
Who are your competitors and how do you differ?
Information on what you are accomplishing.
Mention any key intellectual property you may have (patents,
patents pending, copyrights, trademarks, etc.).
Hint: Know your customers, know your market!

Round 2 (30 sec)

RISKS: Identify potential risks and planned
responses to them.
Point out potential vulnerabilities and how they might affect you
(Ex. If the price of gasoline or a particular material goes up,
what does that mean for your business?)
Do you have any legal, regulatory or product liability risks? (Ex.
Is your product in the growing Cannabis industry?)

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Round 3 (30 sec)
IMPACT: How does your business benefit
mankind?
Investors used to only look for their ROI, now a growing number
want to know that they are making a positive impact.
How is your product/service tackling current global challenges
(on a National, Regional or Global level)?
How many people does/could your product/service benefit?
Hint: Think of the direct and indirect impact you are making.

Round 4 (30 sec)

SUSTAINABILITY
How will your company make money now
and in the future?
What is your business model?
How will you make money from your product/service?
How much equity and debt has the company raised?
What is the capitalization structure? (We recommend you use
dollar currency for reference sake but do mention what currency
you usually trade in.)
How will you manage long term growth? (Do mention your sales
and distribution model)
How will you get your first customer as well as the 10,000th or
one millionth customer?
Mention your PR strategy.
What do you do when everyone has one of your
products/services?
What is the projected lifetime value of a customer?
What is the typical sales cycle between initial customer contact
and closing of a sale?
What early traction has the company already gotten? How can
it be accelerated?
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What are key features you plan to add in the future?
What are your major product milestones?

Round 5 (30 sec)

TEAM: How is your management team
uniquely positioned to execute on this idea?
Prove why your team can execute on your idea and create
value in the company.

3. After each battle between 2 start-ups the

judges will have limited time to ask both of the
start-ups additional questions for further insight.

4. At the end of each battle one start-up will be

selected to move to the runner ups.
The runner ups from each battle will stand on
stage for further questions by the judges, as
well as, the audience.

5. The judges will then select the national

winner.

Important Notes
Only one founder will pitch on stage while
the rest of the team must stay in the
audience.
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 Pitches must be in English
Slides cannot be shown during the pitching
battle on stage (neither power point nor
other versions).
Start-ups reading off a paper while pitching
is not permitted.
Time is of essence. Start-ups will be cut off
if their answer goes beyond the time limit.
Start-ups will be video recorded and that
may be used for promotional purposes.
Start-up could bring its cities badges, flags
etc.

Costs
FAC competition is cost free. Travel and
accommodation costs for the National and
World Finals are not covered.

Prizes
There is a one national winner for each country
who will compete with other international
finalists in the Global Championship.

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In addition, the winners will have the
opportunity to pitch in front of the local and
international investors.
Also, they will receive start-up services and
media attention to help their company evolve.
Technology based start-ups could win the
Microsoft BizSpark program worth $120k.
One Founder Institute Serbia Scholarship will
be awarded.
FAC Serbia 2016 will announce the Winner, 1st
and 2nd runner ups.

National delegation
The winner of the FAC Serbia 2016 will become
the member of the National delegation and will
present Serbia on the World Championships
during the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in
Johannesburg, South Africa, where 160
countries will participate.

The Winner and all competitors must follow the

rules and instructions given by the organizer
during the preparations and participation on the
World Finals.

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Intellectual property rights
By sending your application for the FAC Serbia 2016 you
are agree that all sent data are true and that you have
regulated intellectual property rights among their owners.
Applicant is aware of its responsibility if presented ideas
or concepts may infringement third parties rights.
Applicant is also confirming that all team members
approved the business concept to be presented.

Confidentiality and use of

information
When you apply, you should send only the information
which could be published. By sending the application for
competition participation, you are agreed that
information, names, photos, logotypes, videos etc. could
be used for promotion or archive.

PR & Media
Participants could use the materials and opportunities for
media promotion but they must mention Serbia Start Up
as an organizer and the name of the competition Future
Agro Challenge Serbia 2016. Teams and participants
could be invited for interviews, TV and other kind of
promotion.

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CALENDAR
2016/17
2016
14 Nov Deadline for FAC Serbia
Application

18 Nov Agro Bootcamp

FAC Serbia Semi-Finals

19 Nov FAC Serbia Finals

2017
22 Jan Announcement of 10 selected
candidates to pitch live at the
Global Championships

30 Jan-28 Social Media Battle

Feb

13-16 Mar Global Championship Finals

during Global Entrepreneurship
Congress in Johannesburg, South
Africa

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ABOUT US
We are accelerating creative
entrepreneurs!
Who are we?
Serbia Start Up is a non-profit organisation
which empowers creative entrepreneurs. We
help creative individuals who have new and
original work and ideas to improve their
business skills to build their dream companies.
Serbia Start Up is international matchmaking
network of start-ups, mentors, investors, and
partners.

Our vision
Our vision is to help Serbia become one of the
top 20 start-up ecosystems in the world with a
strong focus on IT, Creative, Agriculture, Food,
Science and Lifestyle.

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What we do?
Serbia Start Up develops entrepreneurship as a
life-changing choice by:
Supporting creative start-ups to gain
business skills and development
Improving access to finance through
investor readiness guidance
Implementing innovative partnerships and
training
Developing global and local accelerators
Improving multidisciplinary collaboration.

How we do it?
We help creative entrepreneurs to bring their
ideas to the life by organising:
Competitions
Trainings and Workshops
Mentorships
Conferences
Accelerators
Networks

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Our global licences and key
partnerships
Creative Business Cup World
Championship for Creative Entrepreneurs
and Innovations
Future Agro Challenge World
Championship for Agro Start-ups and
Entrepreneurs
Founder Institute Global accelerator
helps aspiring entrepreneurs to build their
dream and successful companies
Global Entrepreneurship Week Partner
Global Entrepreneurship Congress
Delegate
Microsoft BizSpark Partner

Awards
We are the Best Host of the Future Agro
Challenge 2015. Compass Award Ceremony
held on Global Entrepreneurship Congress in
Medellin, Colombia.

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 SERBIA START UP
info@serbiastartup.rs
www.serbiastartup.rs

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