EIT Food lands 11 agrifood startups in Bilbao for soft-landing push
What's the deal? EIT Food opened the third edition of its Bilbao Campus Experience on November 3, 2026, bringing 11 agrifood startups from nine countries into the Basque ecosystem. The month-long soft-landing accelerator runs at BAT Torre Bizkaia, backed by the Basque GovernmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and the Diputación de Bizkaia.
What's on offer? The programme gives foreign startups a route into Euskadi, pairing them with local mentors, partners, and potential commercial ties. It targets ventures looking to establish a presence in the region.
Why now? This edition continues a sustained effort to turn Bizkaia into an agrifood landing pad. The 2024 and 2025 cohorts brought 12 and 10 international startups, respectively, making this year's group of 11 consistent with earlier rounds.
What's the endgame? The goal is conversion, not headcount. EIT Food says eight alumni from earlier editions have since set up in Euskadi — a more concrete outcome than cohort size alone.
The signal: Bizkaia is building multiple routes for international food-tech ventures. In 2026, region-backed NOVO Agrifoodtech, developed with technology centre AZTI, launched a 12-week accelerator for deep-tech applications and industry pilots — part of a broader push to anchor foreign startups locally.
Read more: europapress.es
Image credit: aherrero