•       EIT Food is celebrating its annual event this Thursday, bringing together 150 entrepreneurs, investors and experts including Eneko Axpe (University of the Basque Country), Matthieu Vincent (Digital Food Lab) or Françoise de Valera (Pack2Earth), as well as a keynote conversation between EIT Food CEO Richard Zaltzman and Heinrich Arnold (EIT).  

•       The day before, the CERES Awards will be presented, recognising the work of nine entrepreneurs and farmers. Among the European winners are José Lorenzo Arca (a livestock farmer from Pontevedra), who received the award for regenerative agriculture; Priscila Silva (Gundo), recognised as an outstanding example of a female innovator; and Françoise de Valera (Pack2Earth), who won the award for fundraising achievements. 

 This week, Bilbao becomes a key hub for European innovation and entrepreneurship in the agrifood sector, with two events organised in connection with the European body EIT Food. On Wednesday, 18 June, the BAT Tower will host of the CERES Awards, recognising the work of nine entrepreneurs and farmers who have stood out in EIT Food programmes over the past year. The ceremony will serve as a prelude to Thursday 19 June, when the Iberdrola Tower will welcome the Founders Day, EIT Food's annual gathering of innovative startups and key actors in their development, including major companies, investment funds, and top-level experts.   

 EIT Food is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.  

  Founders Day, on Thursday 19 June 

 This Thursday, 19 June, Founders Day becomes part of the food entrepreneurship strategy of the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. This event brings together more than 150 entrepreneurs from across Europe in Bilbao to network, share knowledge and create synergies. The event will offer insights into the latest trends in the agrifood sector. 

 Among the most prominent speakers is Eneko Axpe, a Basque physicist who collaborates with NASA to develop and improve food for astronauts and is the author of the book "Delicious Algorithm". 

 Other experts participating include Matthieu Vincent (Digital Food Lab), who will present a study on trends in the food-tech ecosystem; Françoise de Valera (Pack2Earth), who has secured a one-million-euro funding round for her company, which develops compostable packaging to replace conventional plastic for sports nutrition and other uses. 

 Alba Rocafort (Fabbric) will also take part, sharing how she has broken barriers in female entrepreneurship. A highlight of the event will be a conversation between Richard Zaltzman, CEO of EIT Food, and Heinrich Arnold, member of the Governing Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Several of the award winners from the previous day's CERES Awards will also participate as speakers. 

 The event will address the main challenges and strategies for entrepreneurship and business growth, led by those who have succeeded in the sector. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from case studies presented both from the perspective of investors and the startups themselves. 

 The event will feature the institutional presence of Amaia Barredo, Minister for Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries of the Basque Government; Joseba Mariezkurrena, Director General for Entrepreneurship, Talent and Business Competitiveness of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia; as well as Begoña Pérez Villarreal, Managing Director of EIT Food Southern Europe. 

 The full programme can be found here. 

 CERES Awards, on Wednesday 18 June 

The CERES Awards will this Wednesday recognise the contribution of entrepreneurs and farmers to the agrifood industry. With a European scope, this year's ceremony will take place at the BAT Tower in Bilbao, where nine awards will be presented. 

 Among the winners are three Spanish representatives. José Lorenzo Arca, a livestock farmer from Pontevedra, has won the Regenerative Agriculture category. He is being awarded €10,000 for reducing his carbon footprint and implementing innovative technologies to improve farm management. 

 Priscila Silva, founder of Gundo, a nutrition app that offers users personalised recommendations, has been recognised as an example of innovative female entrepreneurship, thanks to the commercial success of her service. She will receive a €3,000 prize. 

 Françoise de Valera, co-founder of Pack2Earth, has been awarded in the fundraising category for her startup, which develops bio-based and home-compostable materials (as alternatives to plastic) for packaging solid, liquid, and semi-liquid products, such as those used in sports nutrition. Last year, her company closed a €1 million funding round. 

 These three will collect their awards on Wednesday alongside the six other winners: 
Blue Ocean (Best Market Innovation), Grizo & Parisino (Revenue Generation Award), Smartfarm Robotix (Job Creation Award), Criatura (Best Female-Led Startup, founded by Portuguese entrepreneur Diana Maria da Rocha), and two regenerative agriculture farms: La Petrosa (Second Prize) and Terra Organica (Third Prize), both based in Italy.