2022 Grow-NY Food & Ag event to dole out $3M in prize money

Climate change solutions are going to be at the heart of this year’s Grow-NY Food & Ag Summit, being held Nov. 15 and 16 in Syracuse, New York. The summit includes symposium sessions and a live pitch competition in which seven winners will be selected from the competition’s 20 finalists to receive a combined $3 million in prize money.

This event is designed for startups, companies, investors, resource providers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and students. Registration is now open.

Grow-NY is the world’s largest global food and agriculture business competition, and the climate-change focus draws inspiration from Cornell University’s 2030 Project, an initiative that seeks to bring cutting-edge research across disciplines together and adapt it into practical, real-world solutions to the challenges caused by climate change.

“This year’s finalists are world class innovators doing cutting edge work across the food and agriculture landscape, from far upstream farm operations to consumer-packaged goods that you can go into a grocery store and pull off of a shelf. It’s meaningful novelty that we’re looking for, and clear potential for growth,” said Jenn Smith, Program Director, Grow-NY. “As always, we look forward to their energetic live pitches with excitement.”

The symposium portion showcases thought-provoking panel discussions and fireside chats led by leading startups, industry players, and thinkers in food and agriculture.

The opening session, called “The 2030 Project: Driving towards Net Zero in Food and Farming,” will highlight pressing challenges and opportunities for innovation the food and ag community face as they strive to meet climate change mitigation goals throughout the agrifood system.

Symposium sessions will occur between dynamic live pitches from the entrepreneurs chosen as this year’s Grow-NY competition finalists. This year, 390 startups from around the world applied for the competition. The 20 finalists were selected in September and assigned mentors, and have entered an accelerator focused on exploring the regional resources available to help them grow and scale their startups in Upstate New York, and preparing their business pitch. At the summit, each finalist will receive 10 minutes to present their business plans with the remaining 10 minutes set aside for questions from the panel of judges.

A virtual awards ceremony will be held on Nov. 17, during which the winners of the $1 million top prize, two $500,000 prizes and four $250,000 prizes will be revealed.

Admission to the summit in Syracuse is $50 per person, $25 for students, and includes virtual access as well. Group discounts for school trips or community organizations are available, and no one will be turned away due to the inability to pay. The full pitch competition, symposium panels, and award ceremony will be broadcast live online for anyone interested in virtually attending, free of charge.