Launched earlier this summer, Terra is the accelerator partnership of tech coworking accelerator RocketSpace and Rabobank, the international bank that specializes in food and agriculture financing and investment. Covering tech innovation across consumer, industrial agriculture and food science, Terra is now accepting applications for its first class of startups for an eight-week curriculum led by industry experts followed by an eight-week product validation phase.
Unlike other accelerator programs, startups are not required to give up any equity to participate and there are no fees involved. Rabobank and RocketSpace leadership call Terra the “first-of-its-kind” to bring together startups and corporations to advance a new standard for food and agriculture.
The industry-specific accelerator model a familiar one for RocketSpace, which runs vertical industry accelerators across media, logistics, fin tech and more. The new food and agtech program will follow a similar format to other RocketSpace vertical accelerators, from accepting applications in August and September, a full 8-week curriculum September to October, a pitch day and, finally, demo day in February 2017.
Selected startups will have the unique opportunity to work from RocketSpace’s tech campus in downtown San Francisco, among its community of more than 150 startup members. The eight-week tailored curriculum led by industry experts will allow startups to sharpen their product and pitch before the eight-week product validation phase. Startups do not need to give up equity or pay for admission to join the program.
The new accelerator is also working in partnership with KitchenTown, a food startup accelerator with a full kitchen and food production system in San Mateo. The KitchenTown kitchen will serve as the program’s official test kitchen.
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