A total of four teams from Bonn took part in the Idea Camp, three of which impressed the jury on Demo Day. During the intensive three-day program, they worked on their concepts with professional support and gained valuable insights into the world of startups. In the end, the ReedThink team took the top spot on the winners' podium and took home the first prize of €1,500, followed by Fact Flow (€1,000) and Peelicious (€500).
From the seminar room to successful pitching
All winning teams are based at the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional, and Engineering Sciences and developed their ideas in advance in Prof. Denise Fischer-Kreer's seminar “Start-ups in the Agricultural and Food Industry” at the Institute for Entrepreneurship or with the start-up consulting service of the Transfer Center enaCom, among others. Moritz Mey, lecturer and doctoral candidate at the Chair of Entrepreneurial Behavior, was particularly instrumental in motivating and coaching the students to participate in the pitch competition and further develop their business ideas.
- ReedThink uses forgotten reeds to manufacture climate-neutral and biodegradable products such as building and insulation panels, while also supporting the renaturation of moors in Germany.
- FactFlow makes life cycle assessment in agriculture simple and automated. AI-supported processes use existing documents to efficiently record ecological footprints – without paperwork and at significantly lower costs.
- Peelicious turns peels that would otherwise end up in the trash into healthy and sustainable food. The team is thus contributing to the reduction of food waste and aims to continuously expand production.
In addition to these teams, the Wildlytics project from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bonn took part in the camp and was able to take away helpful tips and training. The platform connects wildlife cameras used by hunters and conservationists, automatically classifies the images, and thus provides valuable data for species protection and early detection of animal diseases.
Support for start-up projects at the University of Bonn
Students interested in starting a business can take advantage of a diverse and interdisciplinary range of seminars and lectures at the Institute for Entrepreneurship. In addition, the team at the Transfer Center enaCom, with its experts in start-up founding and innovation, is available to provide advice and support to all members of the university.
About Idea Camp
Idea Camp supports young students, graduates, and professionals from all disciplines who are interested in starting a business in further developing innovative ideas in the agricultural and food industry. It is offered every year by the Growth Alliance, an initiative of Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank and TechQuartier on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture to promote AgriFood start-ups in all stages of development nationwide.