The fact that the AIL has now been around for five years and enjoys a growing reputation is not only demonstrated by increasing attention from Austrian political circles. We also receive many international requests for support, most recently from Serbia and Luxembourg.

In spring and summer of this year, for example, our Innovation Manager Lena Ranneberg was involved in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce’s large-scale ScaleUp 4 Europe startup programme. Alongside her role as a juror, evaluating promising startups from right across Eastern Europe, Lena also offered the aspiring companies some insights into market entry in Austria. We would like to congratulate our partner the Serbian Chamber of Commerce for the great success of this year’s programme. At the same time, this was another valuable opportunity for the AIL to exchange ideas internationally and to get to know more promising startups in the areas of online food and insect production.

We also received a warm invitation from Luxembourg’s Minister of Agriculture Romain Schneider to contribute to a European conversation about innovation hubs and to present the activities of the AIL. Our Managing Director Claudia Mittermayr spoke about the origins of the AIL as well as about our current initiatives. More fascinating input came from a colleague from Soil and More Impacts GmbH from Germany, which is committed to supporting the transition to a sustainable food system. We wish the Ministry in Luxembourg loads of success and enjoyment as it implements an innovation hub and some exciting agricultural projects.