Female agri-food start-ups: mapping the Italian context during the Coronavirus era

The present contribution aims to map the innovative female start-ups in the Italian agri-food sector during the Coronavirus era. To reach the declared goal a qualitative explorative research was conducted (Glaser, 1978; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Stebbins, 2001). The survey was conducted on 12,068 innovative start-ups registered in the special section of the business register of the Italian chambers of commerce. The results show that from the point of view of innovation and technology, the agri-food sector is still very poor and only 0.7% of Italian start-ups operate in this sector (91 companies out of 12,068). Regarding gender issues, the situation gets worse with only 10 innovative farms being led by women (11% of the sector; 0.08% of Italian start-ups). The present chapter has several implications. From a theoretical perspective, it contributes to gender studies and to the business innovation field, especially during periods of crisis. From the managerial perspective, the work provides a first picture of the state of the art of Italian innovative agri-food start-ups, highlighting the current gap between the number of female and male companies.