Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a national cooperative owned by family farmers across the U.S., is focused on helping bring innovation to the farm and the dairy case. Today, the Cooperative and Sprint (NYSE: S) announced that applications are open for the 2019 Corporate Accelerator program that help identify and grow start up businesses.
Sprint and DFA, which is now in its third year of sponsoring the program, will look to recruit ag tech companies as well as early stage food product companies that are dairy-focused.
“At DFA, we’re constantly searching for new ways to elevate and grow the dairy industry,” says Monica Massey, senior vice president and chief of staff at DFA. “For this reason, we are committed to connecting, mentoring and guiding rising entrepreneurs in food and ag.”
Features of the 90-day Accelerator program include:
- Targeted, strategic meetings with the corporate partner teams to discuss business development, pilots and potential sponsorships;
- Mentoring from DFA senior members and their networks, as well as from the investor, business development and entrepreneurial communities;
- Business building sessions around product, brand, marketing and entrepreneurship;
- State-of-the-art workspace facilities provided at Sprint Accelerator in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District.
“DFA has been a great sponsor and we look forward to continuing our work with them in 2019,” said Doug Dresslaer, managing director of the Sprint Accelerator.
Additional details and applications are available at sprintaccelerator.com. The 90-day program will begin on April 1, 2019 and run through June 25, 2019.
About Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America is a national cooperative focusing on quality, innovation and the future of family dairies. While supporting and serving more than 14,500 family farmers, DFA works with some of the world’s largest food companies to develop ingredients that satisfy their customers’ cravings while staying committed to social responsibility and ethical farming. For more information, please visit dfamilk.com.
About Sprint and its Support for Entrepreneurship
Sprint has a strong history of working with startups in Silicon Valley, Kansas City and around the globe, helping young companies navigate the corporate world and build momentum behind their new businesses. Sprint is committed to supporting the entrepreneurial movement across the country, delivering new business opportunities, and spurring the startup spirit within the company. In 2014, Sprint opened the award-winning Sprint Accelerator in Kansas City – home of the Corporate Accelerator. The accelerator space is used to deliver year-round programming, including mentor engagement, STEM programs, entrepreneurial community collaboration, and community coworking space.
About Sprint:
Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint served 59.5 million connections as of Dec. 31, 2016 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past five years. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
