What we offer applicants Selected participants will benefit from: Long-term technical assistance: Every SME and circularity journey is different. That’s why we take time to really understand what your SME needs and offer tailored, practical support over a 12-month-long period. This includes an individualized workplan, 1-on-1 sessions, and action-oriented support, as well as a few group workshops. It also includes assistance for the SMEs to become better employers by improving on the aspects of decent work. Milestone budget: 6.800 EUR is available for each participant to be spent on costs that directly support your work plan. It is disbursed according to a grant agreement and must contribute to the business becoming more circular, more investment-ready, and a better employer. Investment Fund: We partnered with Unconventional Capital to create a concessional, revenue-based financing product that is available exclusively to O-Farms participants. See more details below. Investment readiness: If the O-Farms Investment Fund is not a good fit for your business, we support your investment readiness journey by assessing and addressing financial management gaps. We also offer matchmaking with other financiers, however only for SMEs which meet their minimum revenue requirements. Impact Assessment: All participants are invited to join a fully subsidized feedback collection from a sample of your customers or suppliers. The result is a performance snapshot report that you can use for strategic management, fundraising and more. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Interested participants can apply for a fully subsidized LCA assessing the environmental impact of your business. The results can be used to show your environmental performance compared to less sustainable alternatives, and to get recommendations to improve your sustainability.
What we are looking for in applicants We are looking for established SMEs in the agri-food sector with steady revenues from sales and a demonstrated commitment to circular principles. Our ideal candidate has a strong potential to reduce and reuse food losses, and create new decent work opportunities while growing their business. Achieving circularity is a journey, and O-Farms 2 welcomes two types of SMEs:
Eligibility Criteria *excluding alcoholic, cosmetic and medicinal products, and processed food products containing free sugars of more than 10% of the total kcals provided by the product
About the O-Farms Investment Fund Operated by our partner Unconventional Capital, with a concessional offer exclusively for O-Farms participants. Ticket sizes: 20k-100k EUR The maximum ticket size depends on the business case and the SME’s revenues, from a maximum 25% up to a maximum of 40% of annual revenues. Unlike traditional loans, payments are flexible and change with the business’s revenue, meaning larger payments are made in good months and smaller payments in slow months. Standard tenure is 3 years with a 1.4x repayment multiple (with the total cost similar to ~13% per annum interest), but a lower repayment multiple is achievable with a shorter repayment period. No collateral required Minimum annual revenues: close to 60k EUR Note: SMEs who may not be eligible for financing for the Investment Fund may still be eligible to join the Accelerator and our alternative investment-readiness track.