conference SPEAKERS
Join the minds shaping the future of agri-food
Bijan Sabet
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Czech Republic
- ZenWork
- 09.10 AM –09.30 AM
OPENING REMARKS
Bijan Sabet was sworn in as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Czech Republic on December 16, 2022, and arrived in the Czech Republic on January 31, 2023. He presented his credentials to the Czech Republic’s president on February 15, 2023.
Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Sabet was co-founder of Spark Capital, a successful venture capital firm. In his role at Spark Capital, he led investments and served on the board of directors of early-stage startup companies that have transformed into global leaders. Ambassador Sabet led Spark’s investment in Twitter in 2007 when the San Francisco-based startup had just ten employees. His firm led early-stage investments in other iconic companies that have created tens of thousands of new jobs.
Ambassador Sabet also enjoyed mentoring students and young professionals, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds in the venture capital industry. Before co-founding Spark Capital in 2005, he worked as a senior executive in Silicon Valley, California, and Massachusetts technology startup companies.
Before his appointment, Ambassador Sabet served on the Board of Trustees of Boston College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He also served as a Trustee at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts and Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Ambassador Sabet is married to Lauren Sabet, has three children, and is a passionate photographer.
Alexis Taylor
Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs
- ZenWork
- 09.10 AM –09.30 AM
OPENING REMARKS (video)
Alexis Taylor is Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs (TFAA) at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In this role, Alexis leads the Foreign Agricultural Service as the lead U.S. agency tasked with promoting exports of U.S. agricultural products through market intelligence, trade policy, trade capacity building, trade promotion programs, and the U.S. Codex Office. She works in her role to provide our farmers and ranchers with opportunities to compete in the global marketplace. She helps lead the Department on trade policy and international agricultural issues domestically and abroad.
Alexis graduated from Iowa State University and grew up on her family’s farm in Iowa, which has been in her family for more than 160 years.
Marek Výborný
Minister, The Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic
- ZenWork
- 09.10 AM –09.30 AM
OPENING REMARKS (video)
RNDr. Michaela Pixová, Ph.D.
Institute of Sociological Studies at FSV UK
- ZenWork
- 09.10 AM –09.30 AM
OPENING REMARKS
Eva Mejtová
EIT Community Officer
- ZenWork
- 09.10 AM –09.30 AM
Host / Conference moderator
Ing. Jana Mazancová, Ph.D.
Vice-dean for development (gender equality, diversity and inclusion, unwanted behaviour and discrimination)
- ZenWork
- Panel 1 / 10.00 AM –11.00 AM
Panel 1: Gender Aspects of the Agri-food
Keynote speach
Jana Mazancová has been researching sustainable development through the socio-economic aspects of waste-to-energy approaches in developing and European countries since 2004. She is also dedicated to gender equality and rural women’s empowerment.
With experience teaching at universities in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, she has led over 30 development projects funded by the EU and Czechia across these regions and Eastern Europe. Additionally, she has independently evaluated UN WFP and other donor-funded programs in these areas.
Mazancová is a member of the CZU working group for the Gender Equality Plan and serves on several expert bodies focused on sustainable development and gender equality in universities. She is the Principal Investigator of the Horizon Europe AGRIGEP project, which aims to implement Gender Equality in Research and Innovation at six European universities.
Mitchell Collins
program Director cats2cats
- ZenWork
- Panel 1 / 10.00 AM –11.00 AM
Panel 1: Gender Aspects of the Agri-food
Moderator of the panel
Mitchell Collins is an experienced program director, supply chain professional, and sustainability advocate with a passion for gender equality and inclusive agricultural development. As Program Director for Cats2Cats, an NGO focused on empowering women, Mitchell helps design and implement strategic programs to support gender equity. Her experience in international program development, cost management, and partnership building bridges the gap between organizations, governments, and private enterprises to maximize social impact.
With a unique combination of experience in supply chain management and agricultural sustainability, Mitchell is well-versed in creating systems that foster resilience and efficiency. She has Caribbean roots and is originally from the USA, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a Master’s in Sustainable International Development and Agricultural Economics from the Czech University of Life Sciences. A core focus of hers is to serve as a connector for critical dialogue leading to engaging discussions that uncover actionable solutions for promoting sustainability in the agri-food sector.
Mgr. Katarína Klamková
National Director of Care Czech Republic
- ZenWork
- Panel 1 / 10.00 AM –11.00 AM
Panel 1: Gender Aspects of the Agri-food
Katarína Klamková is the National Director of CARE Czech Republic, a member of CARE International, a leading humanitarian and development organization dedicated to gender equality. CARE Czech Republic’s projects, including those in Zambia and Ethiopia, empower women small-scale farmers and producers who are essential to global food production but often face disparities in access to resources compared to men.
A passionate advocate for human rights and social inclusion, Katarína boasts extensive leadership experience. She co-founded and contributed to multiple Czech civic society organizations and has collaborated with international organizations in Israel, the USA, and beyond. Katarína is a certified community organizer and her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Civil Society Prize from the European Economic and Social Committee and the Czech NGO of the Year award for IQ Roma Servis.
Jana Havrdová
Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic
- ZenWork
- Panel 1 / 10.00 AM –11.00 AM
Panel 1: Gender Aspects of the Agri-food
Jana Havrdová serves as Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic, where she is instrumental in accessing and analyzing labor market data. Her leadership within the Women4Business initiative demonstrates a strong commitment to empowering women across industries.
Havrdová’s expertise in gender equality and strategic understanding of the Czech labor market make her an invaluable contributor to the SEED Summit. With a focus on inclusive growth and opportunities for women entrepreneurs, she is a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment and a leading figure in Czech society. Her insights on innovation, youth engagement, and gender equality in agriculture will enrich our discussions.
Lili Balogh
President of the Agroecology Europe Association and the Hungarian Agroecology Network Association
- ZenWork
- Panel 1 / 10:00 AM –11.00 AM
Panel 1: Gender Aspects of the Agri-food
Lili Balogh is a bioengineer and tropical agronomical engineer, involved in the international Food Sovereignty and Agroecology movement for the past decade.
She has worked in several eco-political NGOs to promote agroecology and regenerative food systems in different parts of the world.
For the past six years, she has focused on strengthening the Hungarian Agroecology movement. She worked as the Program Manager of Greenpeace Hungary for a year before leaving to more actively support the transition to sustainable food systems.
In February 2022, Lili became the President of Agroecology Europe Association and the Hungarian Agroecology Network Association. She began her own farm in West Nógrád in 2018, where she started applying holistic management, regenerative agriculture, permacultural, and agroecological principles.
Markéta Vinkelhoferová
Co-Founder of FairBio Roastery and Chairperson of TESSEA
- ZenWork
- Panel 1 / 10.00 AM –11.00 AM
Panel 1: Gender Aspects of the Agri-food
Markéta Vinkelhoferová co-founded the social enterprise Fair & Bio Roastery, which has been roasting fair trade organic coffee in Central Bohemia since 2013 and employs people with disabilities. She is actively dedicated to promoting environmentally and socially responsible business practices, serves as the board chair of TESSEA, and contributes to raising awareness of sustainable business through seminars, workshops, and mentoring. Her activities are regularly featured in the media and at conferences in the Czech Republic and abroad.
M.Sc. Ilona Svobodová, Ph.D.
Researcher at Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information
- ZenWork
- Panel 2 / 11.30 AM –12.30 PM
Panel 2: Empowering Youth & Young in Agriculture
Keynote speach
Ilona Svobodová holds a degree in Regional Geography and Regional Development from Masaryk University in Brno. Since 2006, she has been a researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information (ÚZEI, Brno), specializing in agricultural employment. Her work involves analyzing official statistics (CZSO, MLSA) and conducting empirical surveys through the Institute’s sociological team.
Svobodová actively collects and analyzes data from agricultural stakeholders, including agricultural schools, to inform her research on the agricultural labor market, agricultural education, and agricultural policy development.
Nicolas Rubio
Agricultural Counselor of the USDA’s Office
- ZenWork
- Panel 2 / 11.30 AM –12.30 PM
Panel 2: Empowering Youth & Young in Agriculture
Moderator of the panel
Nicolas Rubio is the Agricultural Counselor of the USDA’s Office of Agricultural Affairs (OAA) in Berlin, Germany. In this role, he oversees USDA’s trade promotion, policy, and market intelligence activities in Central Europe (Austria, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia). Previously, he was the Director of the USDA’s Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, overseeing programs to assist U.S. agricultural and food companies to export to the Brazilian market. Before arriving in Sao Paulo, he served as the USDA’s Cooperators Program Chief for the Livestock and Seafood Products Branch, managing USDA’s Market Development programs. Nicolas was also the Agricultural attaché in Brasilia (2014-2018) and Pretoria (2011-2014).
Nicolas has a Master’s degree in Latin America Business Development and a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Florida.
Ramona Duminicioiu
President of the Eco Ruralis Association, Romania
- ZenWork
- Panel 2 / 11.30 AM –12.30 PM
Panel 2: Empowering Youth & Young in Agriculture
Ramona Duminicioiu is a peasant / small-scale farmer from Ionești commune in Vâlcea County, Romania. She is the president of the Eco Ruralis association, representing the almost 20,000 peasants at the national level. She is part of the coordination committee of the Ukrainian Rural Development Network (URDN), a public union that brings together over 2 million citizens of Ukraine. She is involved in coordinating a regional alliance (BILIM) to develop Agroecology and implement Peasants’ Rights in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Between 2016 and 2020, she was part of the coordination committee of the Peasant Confederation Via Campesina Europa (ECVC). Between 2017 and 2021, she was part of the coordination committee of the Mechanism of Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples related to the Global Committee on Food Security (CSIPM-CFS). In 2018, she played the role of an expert in the last negotiation session of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Persons in Rural Areas (UNDROP), adopted in the same year by the Human Rights Council in Geneva and later by the UN General Assembly in New York. On the farm in Ionești, Ramona cultivates vines, corn, and vegetables with her extended family.
Wioletta Olejarczyk
Kobiety w Polsce dla klimatu, Poland
- ZenWork
- Panel 2 / 11.30 AM –12.30 PM
Panel 2: Empowering Youth & Young in Agriculture
Wioletta Olejarczyk is an agroecological farmer, activist, and educator; a coordinator and co-creator of agroecological projects; a collaborator with BILIM (Agroecology Community for Europe and Central Asia). She is a member of Nyeleni Poland, a co-organizer of the I and II Food Sovereignty Forum, and the initiator of the Jurajska Food Cooperative in Częstochowa. She started a Community Supported Agriculture group at her farm in Poland. Wioletta is also an herbalist and seed keeper who loves walks, especially those by the river.
Jiří Zhoř
Co-founder Rostutu
- ZenWork
- Panel 2 / 11.30 AM –12.30 PM
Panel 2: Empowering Youth & Young in Agriculture
Jiří Zhoř is a specialist in supporting entrepreneurship among university students at the South Moravian Innovation Center (JIC), where his main role involves service design and mentoring student projects and startups. He sees great potential in transferring technologies and knowledge from the academic world to the non-academic one. Jiří also coordinates a growing community of entrepreneurial students in the Brno region. He gained his entrepreneurial and life experience by co-founding the project rostutu, which focuses on indoor vertical farming and microgreens production. Outside of work, you can often find him in the streets and cafés of Brno, running on mountain peaks, or traveling the world with a backpack.
Ing. Jana Pitrová, PhD.
Academic & Project Lead, ČZU
- ZenWork
- Panel 2 / 11.30 AM –12.30 PM
Panel 2: Empowering Youth & Young in Agriculture
Jana Pitrová is a lecturer for international courses at the Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences (ČZU), and Project Manager for Erasmus+ educational projects. Since 2013, she has been involved in formal and non-formal education, teaching at ČZU and participating in international projects across Europe and beyond (Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico, Sri Lanka).
Her academic pursuits are equally impressive. She has co-created numerous e-learning modules, educational platforms, and self-study materials in various fields as part of Erasmus Plus programs. Her primary research focus, however, lies in the intricate world of business models in agriculture, short food supply chains (SFSC), and entrepreneurship.
Jouke Knol
Counselor for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (to PL, CZ and SK)
- ZenWork
- Panel 3 / 2.00 PM –3.30 PM
Panel 3: Innovation within Agri-food
Keynote speach
Jouke Knol, based in Warsaw, PL, works at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Poland as the Counselor for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, covering Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. He brings experience from previous roles as policy advisor and project manager at the Ministry Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature in the Netherlands and a 4 year deployment at the Dutch Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels. Jouke Knol holds a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Amsterdam and has firm knowledge of the governmental agrifood and nature domain, with a focus on the EU.
Gordana Đurić
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- ZenWork
- Panel 3 / 2.00 PM –3.30 PM
Panel 3: Innovation within Agri-food
Keynote speach (online)
Gordana Đurić is a renowned expert with over 25 years of experience in horticultural plant biology, ecology, and seed science. Her research focuses on biodiversity for food and agriculture, genetic resources, and gene bank management.
A pioneer in agroecology, she has made significant contributions to sustainable agriculture and the preservation of genetic diversity. Currently leading innovative research at the University of Banja Luka, Prof. Đurić is at the forefront of developing sustainable agricultural practices to ensure global food security and environmental resilience.
Thomas de Bruyne
Founder & Managing Director BeInX
Panel 3: Innovation within Agri-food
Moderator of the panel
Thomas De Bruyne is a tech optimist who has built several companies and teams dedicated to unlocking the potential of emerging technologies through a sustainable and ethical lens. He also serves as the Czech co-chair of the global Transformative Technologies community, connecting founders, researchers, innovators, and investors to build tech that amplifies human wellbeing and develop sustainable solutions that drive actionable change.
Ing. Monika Tomaniová, Ph.D.
Vice-Dean for External Relations, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, UCT Prague
- ZenWork
- Panel 3 / 2.00 PM –3.30 PM
Panel 3: Innovation within Agri-food
Monika Tomaniová has over 25 years of experience in the assessment of food safety, quality, and authenticity. She specializes in the comprehensive support and management of research projects within the field of food science.
She often takes a lead role in project teams, especially focusing on creating impact and training others within the context of EU Framework Programmes and also serves as chair of the organizing committee for a series of highly reputable international symposia “Recent Advances in Food Analysis” (2007-2024) and “Chemical Reactions in Foods” (2017 onwards).
In addition, since 2020 she has served as Vice-Dean for External Relations at the Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology of the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague. Since 2018, she has served as the coordinator of the European Institute of Technology (EIT) Food activities in the Czech Republic through the EIT Food Hub.
Rostislav Brzobohatý
Chief Commercial Officer, MEWERY
- ZenWork
- Panel 3 / 2.00 PM –3.30 PM
Panel 3: Innovation within Agri-food
Rostislav Brzobohatý is a business development executive with over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing across sectors such as FMCG, pharmaceuticals, and retail. He has successfully driven growth and innovation in diverse markets including Central Europe, Russia, and Turkey, holding leadership roles in corporations like P&G and Dr.Max, as well as in startups like Rohlik.cz. As a business consultant for the South Moravian Innovation Center (JIC), Rostislav helps startups and smaller companies scale and navigate their future development. His work has been recognized with industry accolades, including the Art Directors Club Award, EFFIE, P&G’s Global Brand Building Award, and the CEEMEA Brand Building Award.
Motivated by a passion for projects with global impact, Rostislav joined MEWERY, a Brno-based startup aiming to revolutionize the food industry through animal cell meat cultivation technology development. At MEWERY, he leads the development of business and marketing strategies to support the company’s bold ambitions.
Martin Kolařík
Founder of Agiception
- ZenWork
- Panel 3 / 2.00 PM –3.30 PM
Panel 3: Innovation within Agri-food
Martin Kolařík is the founder of Agiception, where he focuses on developing innovative camera systems using advanced computer vision technologies. The main product of Agiception in the AgriTech sector is PlantPix – a multispectral camera that analyzes invisible wavelengths, enabling detailed monitoring of plant health. This opens up new opportunities for more efficient and sustainable agriculture. In addition to leading Agiception, Martin is completing a Ph.D. in machine learning, works as a consultant in AI development, and is passionate about AI technologies, hardware, and the startup ecosystem.
Luca Sára Bródy
Postdoctoral research fellow at HUN-REN Centre, Hungary
- ZenWork
- Panel 3 / 2.00 PM –3.30 PM
Panel 3: Innovation within Agri-food
Luca Sára Bródy is an urban sociologist working on social movements and citizen mobilisation, state-civil society relations, exploring urban-rural divides and food sovereignty initiatives. Her research has mainly taken place in Hungary, while her previous work has also focused on the cities of Barcelona, and Amsterdam. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at HUN-REN KRTK Centre for Economic and Regional Studies in Budapest, Hungary, and a research affiliate at Södertörn University in Stockholm, Sweden. She is a member of HerStory Collective, a Budapest-based feminist food-related research collaborative. She is also part of the international research project SustainAction that analyses and compares the resilience and resourcefulness of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe, together with colleagues from Czechia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Sweden. Related website: www.sustainaction.org
Puck van Holsteijn
CEO, World Horti Centre, Netherlands
- ZenWork
- Panel 3 / 2.00 PM –3.30 PM
Panel 3: Innovation within Agri-food
Puck van Holsteijn is CEO of World Horti Center and HortiHeroes. In her role she strives towards a greener world with a sustainable food supply, for everyone. She does this by telling the Food & Flower Industry story to national and international delegations, politicians and other stakeholders. Every year World Horti Center welcomes around 40,000 visitors from all over the world who come to gather inspiration and ideas from the knowledge and innovation on offer here. With HortiHeroes, Puck focuses on making talent enthusiastic for that same Food & Flower Industry. Students, (young) professionals, entrepreneurs and start-up and scale-up founders are the driving force behind the sector.
Dr. Jana Fišerová
Head of Research and Monitoring, CARE
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Panel 4: Supporting Women in Business and Innovation
Jana Fišerová is a research manager, mentor, and successful entrepreneur with over twenty years of international experience in research and business. She currently serves as the Head of Research at CARE Czech Republic, focusing on supporting micro and small enterprises in digitalization and the adoption of online tools that help increase business efficiency, particularly for women entrepreneurs. Jana has extensive experience in academia in the United Kingdom, where she spent more than 15 years lecturing at university and leading research focused on entrepreneurship, digital innovation, and human capital investment.
Jana is a strong advocate for gender equality and the support of women in business. Her efforts are directed towards improving access to digital technologies and their use for the growth of micro and small businesses, which she sees as a key factor for the development of the entrepreneurial environment both in the Czech Republic and abroad.
Adina Foxová
Head of product Design at Košík.cz
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Panel 4: Supporting Women in Business and Innovation
Moderator of the panel
Adina Foxová is the daughter of two entrepreneurs. She is a product designer, problem solver, and moderator. She transitioned into the tech industry at 26 and has since embarked on various projects across fintech, big data, and e-commerce sectors, driving innovative solutions and impactful designs.
Eva Lacinová
Social Impact Manager | Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Panel 4: Supporting Women in Business and Innovation
Eva Lacinová joined the Center for Inclusive Growth as the Social Impact Manager for Czechia and Poland. In this role, she will lead the Mastercard Strive initiative in Czechia and manage the implementation of the Mastercard Strive Community and Ukrainian entrepreneurship programs in Poland.
Eva comes to us from the UNDP Regional Hub in Istanbul, where she contributed to engaging private sector innovators in UNDP projects across 13 countries, including Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. She was responsible for partner outreach, exploration, and scaling of solutions in collaboration with UNDP Accelerator Labs and the Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) at UNDP.
Previously, Eva worked at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, the Czech Development Agency (CzechAID), and the Diaconia of the ECCB – Center for Development and Relief.
She holds a Master’s degree in Media Studies from Charles University in Prague and a Master’s in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of West Bohemia.
Eva Svobodová, MBA
member of the board and general manager AMSP ČR-Association of small and medium-sized enterprises
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Panel 4: Supporting Women in Business and Innovation
Since 1990, she has been active in the sphere of employer organizations, for 15 years she worked at the Association of Industry and Transport of the Czech Republic, and since 2006 she has been the general director of the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Tradesmen of the Czech Republic (AMSP ČR), which represents the interests of more than 300,000 business entities . Since 2019, she has also been a member of the board of directors. She initiated several association projects aimed at beginners
entrepreneurs, family businesses, crafts, women’s business, etc. She is a member of a number of departmental advisory bodies. She is a workaholic and enjoys her work.
Lenka Novotná
Managing director and co-owner of Plastia
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Panel 4: Supporting Women in Business and Innovation
Lenka Novotná is the managing director and co-owner of Plastia, which specializes in producing innovative plastic products for the home and garden. Under her leadership, the company went through a transformational path, where design and sustainability play a key role. Thanks to its strategy aimed at modernizing traditional production and increasing the aesthetic value of products, Plastia won the prestigious Red Dot award for product design, thereby consolidating its position in the global market.
Eva Grulichová
Commercial Banker at UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia, a.s.
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Panel 4: Supporting Women in Business and Innovation
Eva Grulichová has been working in banking for over twenty years, gaining extensive experience with both individual clients and corporate customers, including entrepreneurs. She spent a significant part of her career specializing in banking services for international clients (so-called expats), where she had the opportunity to assist people from diverse cultural backgrounds with their financial needs and adjustment to the Czech environment. In this role, she supported the expat community in understanding the financial culture in the Czech Republic. Currently, she leads a team of twelve bankers focused on corporate clients, where she and her team strive to find tailored and effective solutions for their business partners, contributing to their growth and success.
Petra Kubálková
National manager of EWA program Czechia, cats2cats
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
EWA Empowering Women in Agrifood Corner
Petra Kubálková is an inspiring individual with a wide range of interests who is exceptionally engaged in gender, entrepreneurship, and social development. Her rich experience and passionate approach allow her to successfully combine seemingly disparate areas such as IT, project management, fundraising, and feminist activism.
Petra’s entrepreneurial spirit led her to found the consulting company C2C Solutions Group, which specializes in diversity and equal opportunities consulting. She is also the founder of the non-profit organization Cats2Cats, which supports women in business and provides them with mentoring and networking opportunities.
Ludmila Kucer
Program Director at CARE Czech Republic
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Panel 4: Supporting Women in Business and Innovation
Ludmila Kucer is the Program Director at CARE Czech Republic, leading projects focused on sustainable development, gender equality, and the economic empowerment of women. The organization supports women in developing their entrepreneurial skills and gaining access to financial resources. Through programs focused on financial literacy and the establishment of savings and credit groups, CARE helps women secure the necessary means to invest in agricultural activities and small businesses. The organization also focuses on mitigating the impacts of climate change, which disproportionately affects women in developing countries. Previously, she worked at the Czech Development Agency and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Cairo as the Head of the Economic and Trade Section, where she assisted Czech companies in entering markets in Egypt and Sudan and coordinated projects in sustainable agriculture and water management.
Adéla Lánová
National manager of EWA program Czechia, cats2cats
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
EWA Empowering Women in Agrifood Corner
Adéla Lánová is the Director of the Regional Office of CzechInvest for the Vysočina Region. CzechInvest has long been dedicated to enhancing the competitiveness of the Czech economy by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and business infrastructure and attracting foreign direct investment in manufacturing, strategic services, and technology centers. In recent years, the agency has been actively supporting innovative tech startups, including those focused on sustainability and climate-neutral solutions for various industrial sectors, through the Technology Incubation project. In the Vysočina Region, CzechInvest also focuses on projects that strengthen the local community of women entrepreneurs, primarily through the “Academy of Entrepreneurial Women in Vysočina “NAŽIVO” project.
Lucie Rien
CEO and Owner, SOMA Vision
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
EWA Empowering Women in Agrifood Corner
Lucie Rien
CEO and Owner, SOMA Vision
- ZenWork
- Session / 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
EWA Empowering Women in Agrifood Corner
Lucie Rien is an entrepreneur, author of the book Love, You(r), Planet, and a passionate bee enthusiast. With over 15 years of experience in studying nutrition and natural supplements, she specializes in the combination of adaptogens and nootropics. She is the heart and soul of the SOMA project, where she spent nearly a year creating and testing unique beverages that harness natural power for peak performance. Lucie is personally involved in the creation of each product, ensuring their high quality and effectiveness. Thanks to consuming SOMA bee bread, she has enough energy every day for her numerous projects, which are a testament to her tireless dedication and passion for a healthy lifestyle. Lucie is also a graduate of the EWA Accelerator 2024.