Editor’s Notice: This submit was created in collaboration with and with monetary assist from EIT Food.
On 20 November 2025 concluded the six-month Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) programme concluded with Demo Day in North Macedonia. The occasion showcased the progressive concepts of girls entrepreneurs who acquired assist, coaching, mentorship, and monetary backing to develop their agrifood improvements.
Now in its sixth version, EWA 2025 is a six-month entrepreneurial programme designed to assist aspiring and early-stage feminine entrepreneurs throughout 13 international locations: Albania, Estonia, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye, and Ukraine.
Backed by EIT Meals and the European Institute of Innovation and Expertise (EIT), a physique of the European Union, EWA helps individuals construct the talents, confidence and networks wanted to develop and scale their concepts. Though girls play a significant position in agriculture and rural innovation, their work typically goes underrecognised. The programme helps handle this hole by providing sensible assist, tailor-made coaching and entry to a robust, long-lasting group.
Earlier on this interview collection, we spoke with Anabel Millán Leiva, Co-founder of Cucare Diagnostics, whose science-based strategy highlights the position of analysis and biotechnology in advancing sustainable agriculture. At this time, we proceed the collection with one more outstanding lady entrepreneur, whose work attracts inspiration from pure processes to develop biodegradable options to traditional plastics and supplies.
Interview with Nadica Desanova, Co-founder of MIMIC TECH
Are you able to begin by sharing the inspiration behind Mimic Tech and the way your journey into creating biomaterials from kombucha-based bacterial cellulose started?
The inspiration behind Mimic Tech may be very private and really natural. We come from a household the place kombucha is a part of on a regular basis life; it’s one thing now we have been brewing and ingesting for years. Someday, my co-founder Bisera Popovska’s grandmother took the SCOBY out of the jar and left it apart. Because it dried, it reworked into one thing utterly surprising. It turned leather-like in texture, versatile, dense, and robust.
That second sparked our curiosity. What we have been seeing was not only a by-product of fermentation, however bacterial cellulose with actual materials potential. From there, our journey shifted from the kitchen to the lab. We started experimenting, researching, and testing how this pure construction may very well be developed right into a scalable, sustainable biomaterial.
What motivated you to give attention to biodegradable options to plastic and leather-based, and the way do you see these supplies contributing to a extra sustainable and round meals and supplies system?
Seeing the hole between sustainability claims and actuality. Typical plastics and animal leather-based each include excessive environmental prices: plastic persists for hundreds of years and releases microplastics, whereas leather-based depends on resource-intensive processes and poisonous chemical substances. On the identical time, we realised that many of those supplies are used for short-lived merchandise, which makes their affect even more durable to justify.
In a round meals and supplies economic system, waste turns into a useful resource. We see these biomaterials as a bridge between the meals system and materials manufacturing, closing loops, decreasing waste, and enabling industries to maneuver in the direction of really sustainable, round options.
Mimic Tech develops each bioleather and bioplastic options utilizing kombucha-grown bacterial cellulose. Are you able to stroll us by this course of and clarify what makes your supplies totally different from standard plastics and different bio-based options?
We develop our supplies utilizing kombucha fermentation. Throughout this course of, micro organism naturally produce cellulose, forming a robust, versatile sheet. We harvest this sheet after which course of it in numerous methods relying on the ultimate product.
For bioleather, we dry and deal with the fabric to make it delicate, sturdy, and leather-like, with out utilizing animals or dangerous chemical substances. For bioplastics, we course of the cellulose into skinny movies or shapes that can be utilized for packaging and different on a regular basis merchandise.
What makes our supplies totally different is that they’re grown, not constituted of oil or closely processed chemical substances. In contrast to standard plastics, they’re absolutely bio-based and biodegradable, and they don’t depart microplastics behind. In comparison with different “bioplastics”, which regularly nonetheless comprise artificial parts, our supplies come from a pure fermentation course of
What have been among the greatest challenges you confronted whereas creating Mimic Tech, significantly when transferring from experimentation and analysis to real-world functions?
At first, one of many most important challenges was merely having access to a lab. Our work sits between meals biotechnology and supplies science, so it was not straightforward to search out the proper area and tools to maneuver past small experiments and begin testing the fabric correctly.
The second main problem was funding. Turning analysis into an actual product requires cash for supplies, testing, tools, and time. At an early stage, we needed to depend on small grants, competitions, and a number of private effort to maintain transferring ahead.
These challenges compelled us to be very resourceful, to experiment with what we had, apply to many programmes, and construct step-by-step. Whereas it slowed us down at instances, it additionally helped us higher perceive our materials and construct a robust basis for bringing Mimic Tech from analysis into real-world functions.
When did you first hear concerning the EWA programme, and what motivated you to use and participate in it?
I first discovered the EWA programme on F6S and utilized virtually instantly. What motivated me was how nicely it matched what we have been constructing, a science-based, sustainable resolution within the agrifood and biomaterials area.
EWA stood out as a result of it supplied hands-on mentoring, enterprise assist, and entry to a global community, which is strictly what we wanted at that stage. As a girl founder working on the intersection of biotech and supplies, it felt like an ideal alternative to strengthen our enterprise aspect and take Mimic Tech nearer to actual market functions.
How did the mentorship and coaching in the course of the EWA programme affect the event of Mimic Tech? What would you determine because the three most respected classes you took from the programme?
It had a robust affect on the event of Mimic Tech. I used to be lucky to work with an ideal mentor, Despina Popovska Stojanov, who helped me shift from considering of Mimic Tech purely as a analysis concept to constructing it as an actual and scalable enterprise.
One of the crucial priceless classes was studying find out how to focus and prioritise, and clearly outline our first product and goal market, as an alternative of attempting to do all the things directly. One other key takeaway was the significance of validating our concepts by actual buyer wants, not assumptions. Lastly, the programme helped me enhance how we talk our work, educating me find out how to clarify advanced scientific ideas clearly and compellingly to traders, companions, and prospects.
Sustainability is central to Mimic Tech’s mission. How do you make sure that your supplies stay biodegradable, microplastic-free and appropriate for real-world use throughout totally different industries?
Sustainability is constructed into our materials from the very starting. We work with bacterial cellulose grown by fermentation, which is a pure, pure polymer and never a mix with artificial plastics. By holding the fabric absolutely bio-based and fossil-free, we guarantee it stays biodegradable and doesn’t break down into microplastics.
All through growth, we’re very cautious with any processing or ending steps, selecting strategies and components that don’t compromise biodegradability. On the identical time, we check and adapt the fabric relying on its meant use, so it could actually meet real-world necessities like energy, flexibility, and sturdiness for various industries.
How do you see biomaterials and nature-inspired manufacturing shaping the way forward for packaging, style and food-related industries over the following decade?
Firms like MycoWorks have been a giant inspiration for us, displaying that bio-grown supplies can attain industrial high quality, premium efficiency, and market acceptance. This proves that biomaterials aren’t simply experimental and that they will compete with standard supplies at scale.
In packaging, this can imply really biodegradable, microplastic-free options changing single-use plastics. In style, we’ll see a transfer in the direction of animal-free, low-impact supplies that don’t depend on poisonous processes. In food-related industries, biomaterials will more and more come from fermentation and aspect streams, connecting meals manufacturing with materials manufacturing in a round means.
To conclude, what recommendation would you provide to different girls entrepreneurs who’re interested by constructing science- or engineering-driven startups within the agrifood and sustainability area?
My greatest recommendation is to by no means attempt to do it alone. Assist is extremely essential, whether or not it comes from mentors, programmes like EWA, friends, or your personal group. Having individuals who imagine in you, problem you, and information you makes an enormous distinction, particularly in science- and engineering-driven startups, the place the journey might be lengthy and sophisticated.
I’d additionally say: don’t hand over. There will probably be moments when progress feels sluggish, when funding is troublesome, or when your concept is questioned. Persistence issues. When you imagine in the issue you’re fixing and keep dedicated to studying and bettering, these challenges turn into a part of the method somewhat than the tip of the street.
Science-based innovation takes time, however with the proper assist and resilience, it could actually result in significant and lasting affect.
Extra on the programme
As a part of EWA 2025, Nadica joined a rising #EWAProgramme group of greater than 600 alumnae throughout Europe. This community continues to assist and unlock the potential of early-stage feminine founders nicely past the period of the programme.
She additionally had the chance to pitch her concept on the Next Bite Satellite occasion, Accelerating Innovation By way of Ladies Management, held on 4 December in Warsaw. The occasion introduced collectively almost 350 innovators, founders, and traders to rethink the way forward for meals and spotlight women-led innovation throughout the agrifood ecosystem.
Registration for EWA 2026 opens quickly! Keep tuned and assist construct a way forward for meals powered by girls. More information is available here
About EIT Meals
EIT Meals is the world’s largest and most dynamic meals innovation group. Backed by the European Institute of Innovation and Expertise, it really works throughout the meals worth chain to speed up innovation and entrepreneurship, equipping changemakers with the talents, instruments, and assist they should reshape the way forward for meals.
EIT Meals is considered one of 9 innovation communities established by the European Institute of Innovation and Expertise (EIT), an unbiased EU physique arrange in 2008 to drive innovation and entrepreneurship throughout Europe.
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