When you think of traditional agriculture, ancient olive groves, heritage vineyards, and family-owned fields might come to mind. But today, the global agrifood sector is changing. While facing modern challenges, from rising temperatures and water scarcity to supply chain inefficiencies, it leads to different and modern ways to approach agriculture – sustainable and regenerative agriculture.
As part of the Smarterra by SMAFINE ecosystem hub, we ran a dedicated DEEP Startup Ecosystem Accelerator (DEEPSEA) program for AgriFood ecosystem builders. Rather than disrupting or replacing heritage agriculture, the program equips regional ecosystems to create good framework conditions for founders and to bridge local farming with globally competitive, climate-resilient markets.
GOV4ALL unites communities across the Mediterranean to pioneer a regenerative approach to soil management where people, nature, and land can thrive together. By bringing farmers, researchers, NGOs, and policymakers into dynamic living labs, the initiative co-creates and validates real-world soil solutions directly in the field. These practices are scaled through Rural Regeneration Hubs – which bridge local efforts with EU-level policy and are backed by Collaborative Research to establish the rigorous monitoring protocols needed for long-term regional resilience.
Location: Athens, Greece
Contact: andreas.stefanidis@gmail.com
Portfolio: Link
Deep in the wild heart of the Romanian Carpathians, Cobana is redefining remote work by operating as a bioregional living lab that bridges global innovation with local tradition. Cobana serves as a strategic gateway to Transylvania’s rich yet underestimated ecosystem of regenerative agriculture and traditional knowledge. They connect with an active network of practitioners and attract international innovators to contribute to regional challenges, turning local soil into a world-class launchpad for systemic, regenerative solutions.
Location: Zarnesti , Romania
Contact: partners@co-bana.co
Portfolio: Link
Data Immigrant is establishing a pioneering Agrifood and Green Software Ecosystem Hub in Hungary and Central Europe to bridge the trust gap in sustainable food production. By moving the industry past fragmented marketing claims, the initiative builds a shared evidence layer that connects field-rooted agricultural data, label literacy, and digital trust tools with responsible software engineering talent. Through its core platforms, Data Immigrant converts real-world ecological challenges into an open-source talent pipeline, turning environmental accountability into lightweight, sustainable digital infrastructure.
Location: Hungary
Contact: hello@dataimigrant.com
Portfolio: Link
Starting from Nigeria, The Funding And Readiness to Market Programme for Agribusinesses (FARM PRO) is designed to train and support agricultural entrepreneurs in scaling production and accessing global markets. The initial pilot aims to reach 10,000 agribusinesses and fund 100 of them through a three-month virtual program covering idea, product, and business development. Participants receive guaranteed funding based on their progress while building a unified network of farmers, processors, marketers, investors, and policymakers to enable international trade.
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Contact: mgt@divasity.com
Portfolio: Link
Olivestone Retreat AgriFood Living Labs is building a green ecosystem in Greece’s Tzoumerka region to champion regenerative farming and sustainable tourism. Using its olive grove and retreat as a real-world living laboratory, the project brings together travelers, local farmers, scientists, and businesses to co-create eco-friendly agricultural practices and food experiences. By focusing on circular resource use, they are turning sustainable rural development into a working, hands-on model.
Location: Tzoumerka, Greece
Contact: info@olivestoneretreat.eu
Portfolio: Link
About Smarterra
Smarterra is an international initiative to build tomorrow’s AgriFood ecosystems. Starting in the South of Italy, it inspires more regions around the world to create sustainable, health‑oriented agrifood innovation ecosystems, combining local strengths with science, technology, and startup entrepreneurship. Smarterra received financial support from the European Union under the SMAFINE (“SMart Agriculture Food Innovation Ecosystem”) Horizon Europe funding scheme.
At the heart of the initiative are Smarterra Hubs – local and regional networks that unite startups, researchers, investors, and policymakers around shared competitive advantages. Smarterra equips these actors with tailored mentoring, pitch training, business modeling, and expert-led webinars, while organizing international delegations and publishing data-driven reports on agrifood best practices.
The project’s momentum culminates in high-impact events like the Smarterra Agrifood Summit in Matera, alongside an expert webinar series that bridges innovation trends across Italy, Sweden, Germany, and Denmark. This infrastructure provides direct support to pioneering startups and ambassadors. By offering early-stage innovators a launchpad to pitch, secure funding, and scale, Smarterra acts as a powerful catalyst for ground-level transformation.
Since 2022, Smarterra has been successfully strengthening Southern Italy’s agritech landscape, positioning the region as a vibrant target for foreign investment and international partnerships. By delivering essential capacity building to local founders and bridging traditional agricultural wisdom with deep-tech solutions, the initiative has built a repeatable blueprint for scaling heritage farming into a modern, climate-resilient industry.
What makes DEEPSEA AgriFood track stands out?
With DEEP Ecosystems’ DEEP Startup Ecosystem Accelerator (DEEPSEA) , the Smarterra initiative redefines how agritech innovation is nurtured. Rather than treating startups as isolated entities, DEEPSEA leverages Smarterra’s approach to scale the regional infrastructures that enable startups to be successful.
- Empowering Ecosystem Builders: Instead of coaching individual startups in a vacuum, DEEPSEA accelerates the hub directors, innovation managers, and regional leaders who build long-term, self-sustaining infrastructure.
- Bridging Innovation and Tradition: Transforming resilient farming regions into vibrant local hubs by anticipating future trends, motivating community leaders, and deploying smart, regenerative solutions to fix real-world local challenges.
- Global, Cross-Border Community: Unites ecosystem builders, tech innovators, and agricultural pioneers from all around the world to solve shared climate, soil, and food security challenges together.
The Smarterra AgriFood Innovation Summit
As part of DEEPSEA AgriFood, participants engaged in high-impact, in-person experiences designed to turn strategy into action – highlighted by the Smarterra AgriFood Innovation Summit.
Bringing together ecosystem builders, chefs, investors, and international leaders, this summit serves as an intensive convergence of learning, hands-on collaboration, and peer exchange. Some highlights about the summit:
- Collaborative Ecosystem Design: Combining accelerator strategy and agrifood innovation through panels, startup showcases, interactive exercises, and expert-led mentoring.
- Concrete Action Plans: Participants work alongside global peers to develop actionable roadmaps that directly address the needs of their local agricultural environments.
- Exploring Regional Potential: Acting as a powerful acceleration moment, the summit aligns international strategies and investment opportunities while celebrating Southern Italy’s potential as a thriving global hub for agrifood innovation.
Learn more and request an introduction: