Profile
Jeroen Leffelaar is managing Director Food & Agri Inno- vation at Rabobank and one of the founders of F&A Next, an event where start-ups, companies and investors can meet, in order to stimulate innovation.
ingredients. At the same time, innovation and change is not always easy for established companies.”
Why do companies struggle with innovation? They often spend a lot on R&D, right? “Companies are often restricted to their own R&D department. But on a certain level, they acknowledge they have to do things differently. Start-ups are a great opportunity to refresh a compa- ny’s view on innovation, new products and ideas. However, the actual implementation of disruptive innovation is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges for a company.”
What does it take to get a good cooperation between an established company and a start-up going? “From both sides, getting in touch with either a start-up or a big company is not easy. For start-ups it’s often a huge step to get in touch with the big companies. Smaller start-ups stay often out of a corporate’s sight. Additionally, confidentiality is a major concern for start-ups as they obviously do not want that larger companies to benefit from their ideas and get away with it. When the two have finally found each other, the implementation of start-ups within companies is quite a challenge. Large compa- nies tend to have a specific culture including a way of running their business. So how much room does that leave for any start- up? Companies therefore should ask themselves how they can let the start-up blossom in their own business.”
You are one of the organisers of the F&A Next event. What is the event about? “With F&A Next we share the latest industry insights and offer a place where companies, start-ups and investors can meet. As I previously mentioned, it’s difficult for all parties to find the right partner for cooperation or funding. Since there is growing interest in external innovation among large companies, this is the ideal place to connect and to jointly bring innovation in this industry to a higher level.”
4th F&A Next
On 15-16 May 2019, the fourth edition of F&A Next will be held on the Campus of Wageningen University & Research in The Netherlands. The event was launched in 2016 to stimulate inno- vation and entrepreneurship. Start-ups, companies and inves- tors get the opportunity to network, debate and get inspired. During the two days, presentations and panel discussions will be held and the most promising food and agri start-ups will present themselves. This edition will address, amongst others, the issues and drivers for innovation in crop and livestock farm- ing, the impact of legislation on the license to operate for farm- ers in Europe, and the latest update on investments in food & agriculture. F&A Next is an initiative by Rabobank, Wageningen University & Research, Anterra Capital and StartLife.
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