The Kirchner, FFAR and NCSU collaboration encourages innovation and agricultural productivity by partnering Kirchner Fellows with FFAR Fellows in Agricultural Sciences, a fellowship supporting the research and professional development of future food and agriculture scientists. Cross-collaboration between the Kirchner Food Fellows – FFAR cohort and the FFAR Fellows can more effectively identify and evaluate early-stage innovations in agriculture technology that benefit farmers and are profitable for investors.
The 2019-2020 Kirchner Food Fellowship – FFAR Cohort Fellows are:
- Laura Zaim: Zaim is pursuing her MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a focus in finance. As Venture Partner at New Crop Capital, she helps bring alternative proteins to market by investing in and mentoring early stage vegan food companies.
- Brennan Costello: Costello is a graduate student at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration. Costello is a member of the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program, empowering students and entrepreneurs in the Midwest.
- Ephrem Tesfaye Woldegiorgis: Woldegiorgis is studying at American University’s School of International Service (SIS) pursuing a Master’s in International Development with an emphasis on agriculture, rural development and rural economic institutions in Sub Saharan Africa.
In addition to FFAR, the Kirchner Food Fellowship – FFAR cohort is made possible through the support of Kirchner Group, a boutique firm that provides advisory, operational and M&A support to small and medium sized businesses as well as asset management services with a particular focus on the agriculture and food sector.
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Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.
Connect: @FoundationFAR | @RockTalking
Kirchner Food Fellowship
The Kirchner Food Fellowship is a pioneer in the lean investment movement, harnessing the power of highly-committed millennial talent to find, fund and assist promising socially-responsible, for-profit agricultural businesses. Through the use of a “real-world, real-time, real money” model the program has proven that it is possible for newly formed investment teams to become effective venture capital allocators in a matter of months. The combination of compressed learning time frames and low operating costs makes it possible to more cost effectively deploy smart and impactful capital in parts of the world were angel capital is needed most, leading some to describe the program as “Peace Corps meets VC”. For more on the program please visit www.fundthefood.com and our recent AgFunder article.
The Kirchner Food Fellowship is an initiative of The Kirchner Impact Foundation (501 (c) (3)) one of the “returning arms” of Kirchner Group, that focuses on harnessing the positive power of enterprise to make a difference in addressing some of the most important issues of today. www.kirchnerimpact.com
Steve Dauphin | Director | +1 205.602.9845 | sdauphin@kirchnerimpact.com
Kirchner Group
Kirchner Group was founded in 1985 as a boutique advisory firm and today operates various subsidiaries, providing advisory services (M&A, assessments, diligence) and operational support (interim management, workouts, turnarounds) as well as asset management (dedicated, portfolio optimization) – all leveraging a proprietary approach that dovetails domain and process expertise.
Throughout the decades Kirchner Group has been internationally recognized for its unique business model centered around creating value while promoting values: “earning while returning”. The firm has also established a reputation for building and rebuilding important business and social paradigms based on its deep entrepreneurial orientation.
Kirchner Group’s clients and partners include early stage to mid-market companies, venture capital and private equity firms as well as family offices and some of the world’s largest insurance companies, commercial banks and institutional investors. www.kirchnergroup.com
Blair Kirchner | Managing Director & Co-Head of Impact Activities | +1 902.817.2405 | bgkirchner@kirchnergroup.com