Nestlé debuts Youth Entrepreneurship Platform

Nestlé Youth Entrepreneurship Platform (YEP) gives young innovators access to The Nestlé Entrepreneurship Academy and dedicated programs to grow knowledge, learn new skills and gain experience in areas ranging from food science and technology to the development of products and services – including regenerative agriculture and sustainable packaging. The program also offers customized content and resources from specific geographies.

Entrepreneurship can be a positive choice, a means of unlocking innovation, skills and energy to drive economic and social progress. Through its Global Youth Initiatives such as the Nestlé Needs YOUth program launched in 2013, Nestle has enabled more than 4 million young people to people gain relevant skills to thrive in tomorrow's workplaces across the three pillars, employability, agripreneurship and entrepreneurship.

Through the new platform, Nestlé continues to encourage entrepreneurship by investing in early-stage companies and helping young entrepreneurs to put their ideas into practice.

Nestlé's Youth Entrepreneurship Platform encompasses the following programs:

• Nestlé R+D Accelerator: entrepreneurs can apply for challenges at one of Nestlé's 12 Accelerators across the world, to focus on developing disruptive food and beverage innovations and bringing them to market in six months. Participants can work together with Nestlé's R&D experts from around the world, such as food technologists, nutritionists, regulatory and food safety experts, designers and packaging experts. Each team also receives hands-on support from dedicated innovation coaches and mentoring from Nestlé's senior management.

• Purina Unleashed: the first and only pet care program designed to identify and support innovative start-ups, focused on leveraging technology to improve the lives of pets and owners.

• Numerous Nestlé market initiatives. For example, Ignite Ideas (Nestlé Hellas) supports startups and individuals; Reto Culinario (El Salvador), is an entrepreneurial contest and TV show that showcases youth culinary innovation; CEO X Youth Connect (East and Southern Africa), enables young people to engage with CEOs of large companies active in Nestlé's Alliance for YOUth.

Stefan Palzer, Nestlé CTO, said, "At Nestlé we work with startups, entrepreneurs, innovators and researchers to drive innovation, bring good ideas to market fast and provide nutritious, sustainable and affordable products for a growing world population. Our new digital platform supports young people to bring great ideas to life across the food value chain, shaping the future of food!"

Access to the Nestlé Youth Entrepreneurship Platform is free, presenting an attractive opportunity for young innovators to transform the future of food and collaborate with Nestlé toward a regenerative food system at scale. Registration for the program is open.

(Press release/RAN)