First agri-food business incubator set up in Moldova

09:56 | 01.11.2021 Category: Economic

Chisinau, 1 November /MOLDPRES/- The first agri-food business incubator - Katalyst Kitchens for small processing enterprises as well as startups has been opened in the Republic of Moldova.

The incubator was established by EcoVisio and Eco-Village with the support of several organizations, including the program of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F), implemented by CNFA (Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture) Moldova .

The new incubator represents the materialization of a relatively new concept in the world and which has developed in the last ten years, especially in North America and Europe. In our country, Katalyst Kitchens was created in an organic farm in the village of Rascova, Criuleni district, located 40 km from the capital, where vegetables and organic salads are grown.

The incubator is an innovative multifunctional space, set up following the redesign and reconstruction of a former tobacco drying plant and a pig farm. It has a certified common kitchen, a food production unit, as well as a conference room, which hosts events that promote local entrepreneurship and provide education in the agri-food sector.

Katalyst Kitchens offers production space, accounting services, design, human resources, packaging, creation and testing of new products. At the same time, the incubator offers advice in optimizing the production process, financial planning, export procedures, food safety. The new incubator is already working with more than 100 small food producers, and the Katalyst Kitchens team has decades of experience in harnessing potential and catalyzing initiatives.

F2F provides free agricultural advice to promote sustainable improvements in food security and agricultural processing, production and marketing of agricultural production. CNFA is a USAID-funded organization that supports the economic development of agro-industries in transition countries. The aim of the F2F project is to generate rapid economic growth in the agricultural sector.

Photo: facebook.com

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