Development Opportunities for the Hungarian Agricultural Startup Ecosystem

Abstract

Nowadays, the role of agriculture and the food industry is gradually gaining importance, although it will face many challenges in the future. Digitalisation and newly founded innovative companies can provide solutions to these challenges. The recently established agtech startups could significantly transform the sector. The Hungarian agtech startup ecosystem is a relatively underdeveloped community, but its impact is already notable. The research analyses the characteristics of the Hungarian agriculture technology startup ecosystem and identifies the directions for its future development. Within a qualitative research framework, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine Hungary-based agri-startups, as well as the Hungarian National Chamber of Agriculture TechLab staff members, based on semi-structured questions, between 20 March and 20 April 2021. The results show that there is a good financial environment for Hungarian agtech startups to achieve high performance levels. However, there exist some barriers to success, such as the lack of a culture of failure and relaunch, the low prestige of the agricultural sector, and limited sales capabilities. So far, few Hungarian agtech companies have been able to achieve significant results at the international level. With the advanced digitalisation, the sector is becoming increasingly attractive to young people. The ecosystem’s experience of developing talent management and increased internationalisation over the years can help overcome the limits of the industry. If the startup sector manages to achieve international recognition in the coming years, Hungarian agricultural startups may have a promising future.