Virtual Garden Wins Startup Competition
A business project called Virtual Garden, which allows anyone to become a gardener from the comfort of their own living room, won first prize at the local startup competition Ajujaht 2011 (Brain Hunt 2011).
According to the project's website, a person has to pick out their desired vegetables and Virtual Garden together with organic farms across Estonia will plant the seeds. In fall, when the crop is ready, it is delivered to the person's home.
Winning first place brought Virtual Garden 17,500 euros in prize money.
Second place, and 14,000 euros, went to a project named Plaisir du Chat, which envisions producing cat litter out of oil shale ashes.
The third place was awarded to KPA Scientific, a project aimed at breeding special transgenic mice for C-hepatitis drug testing. It received 7,500 euros.
The competition was sponsored by Enterprise Estonia and financed by the European Union's Social Fund.
Ingrid Teesalu