Applications are now open for the Food Finance Institute (FFI) Fellows Program. From January to July 2025, this free program will provide 15 food-focused entrepreneurs support, training, and services worth more than $10,000 each. Food industry experts at the Food Finance Institute and their network will help these businesses build an investible business model and finance strategy to grow and scale.
Funded in partnership with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, this cohort of the Fellows Program will serve 10 entrepreneurs from Wisconsin and five more nationally.
The program also receives support from industry experts such as Eurofins (food safety), Supply One (packaging), Ogden Glazer + Schaefer (law), Real Food Brands (marketing), Product to Retail, Catapult Commercialization Services, Summit Credit Union, Farm Credit and Compeer Financial.
The Fellows Program serves food, beverage, technologies, value-added agriculture, and processing businesses. Kicking off with FFI’s Financial Management Boot Camp and ending with an investor pitch, virtual meetings and 1-on-1 coaching
cover all areas of food and farm business, including sales, operations, accounting, finance, food safety, marketing and branding. Fellows receive:
- 1-on-1 coaching
- Unlimited on-demand courses
- Bimonthly fellows-only cohort trainings
- Connections to investors, fellows program alumni, Universities of Wisconsin experts, and FFI’s extensive food and farm business resource network
FFI’s Fellows Program runs three times each year, serving a total of 45 businesses annually, 30 of them from Wisconsin. Entrepreneurs are placed in a cohort of either food brands or companies working in technology, agriculture and processing. Past fellows have gone on to raise a total of over $800K in grant funding. As well as $9M equity funding, $7M debt funding, and $36M in annual sales.