We think it’s great news that AIM is working to bring more talent and capacity into the alternative protein space. Unlocking scale-up funding is a highly neglected but critical challenge, and it’s great to see other organisations considering how best to attract funding for this.
To ensure the maximum impact and coordinate resources, GFI would be really excited to collaborate closely with any new charity. We’d gladly share our expertise, data, and relationships so that the new charity can build on what already exists rather than starting from scratch.
As I mentioned in the post, GFI Europe already has two full-time staff working specifically on scale-up (one focused on policy in Brussels and one focused on the private sector), and all of our country-level leads in the UK, Spain, Germany, and the Nordics have securing scale-up funding as one of their core goals. But even with this capacity, there are far more opportunities than we can currently pursue, so a new charity could definitely add value.
One promising approach would be for the new organisation to focus on high-potential geographies where GFI does not yet have a presence. That would increase total coverage and avoid the risk of both organisations knocking on the same government doors.
There are also clear research gaps that someone needs to fill. For example, an assessment of existing infrastructure capacity and retrofitting potential across European regions. These kinds of insights can make a strong, credible case to policymakers, and GFI would love to see them developed, whether by us or by another actor in the space.
In short, we’re enthusiastic about more capacity entering this field, and we’d be keen to collaborate to ensure the new charity’s work is complementary, strategic, and maximally impactful.
Hi Jacco,
Appreciate you flagging the AIM piece.
We think it’s great news that AIM is working to bring more talent and capacity into the alternative protein space. Unlocking scale-up funding is a highly neglected but critical challenge, and it’s great to see other organisations considering how best to attract funding for this.
To ensure the maximum impact and coordinate resources, GFI would be really excited to collaborate closely with any new charity. We’d gladly share our expertise, data, and relationships so that the new charity can build on what already exists rather than starting from scratch.
As I mentioned in the post, GFI Europe already has two full-time staff working specifically on scale-up (one focused on policy in Brussels and one focused on the private sector), and all of our country-level leads in the UK, Spain, Germany, and the Nordics have securing scale-up funding as one of their core goals. But even with this capacity, there are far more opportunities than we can currently pursue, so a new charity could definitely add value.
One promising approach would be for the new organisation to focus on high-potential geographies where GFI does not yet have a presence. That would increase total coverage and avoid the risk of both organisations knocking on the same government doors.
There are also clear research gaps that someone needs to fill. For example, an assessment of existing infrastructure capacity and retrofitting potential across European regions. These kinds of insights can make a strong, credible case to policymakers, and GFI would love to see them developed, whether by us or by another actor in the space.
In short, we’re enthusiastic about more capacity entering this field, and we’d be keen to collaborate to ensure the new charity’s work is complementary, strategic, and maximally impactful.
All the best,
Alex