Margit Batthyány-Schmidt serves as President of the Union of Hungarian Women (UHW) and is an experienced leader in rural development, women’s entrepreneurship and international cooperation. She holds degrees in sociology, mental health studies, international marketing and security policy, and has over three decades of professional experience in public administration, civil society leadership and international organisations. She is an official member of COPA-COGECA Women’s Committee, EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality), COFACE Families Europe, and WEP – Women Entrepreneurs Platform, and serves as Hungary’s ambassador to WUSME, the World Union of Small and Medium Enterprises. Her expertise includes women’s economic empowerment, generational transition in agriculture, rural innovation and cross-border cooperation.
Mónika Alíz Mészáros serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the European Business and Innovation Centres Network (EBN), Brussels. She is an official evaluator selected by the European Commission for Horizon Europe and the EIC Accelerator calls, and acts as a dedicated rapporteur in Horizon Europe programmes. With more than 20 years of experience in EU project development and innovation management, she has managed and coordinated international projects with a total value exceeding 100 million EUR. Her expertise covers SME development, agrifood innovation, circular bioeconomy, cross-border cooperation and EU funding mechanisms. As a founder of the Union of Hungarian Women Association and experienced mentor in several Horizon 2020, Horizone Europe and ERDF-funded initiatives, she supports women agripreneurs through strategic guidance, funding advisory, and innovation-oriented business development
Mónika Szőcs is a local product expert and the founder and president of the Uticél Association, a Hungarian community-based organization dedicated to rural development, sustainable production, and strengthening entrepreneurial opportunities in the agri-food sector.
Drawing on her hands-on experience in small-scale winemaking and rural entrepreneurship, she offers practical insight into business resilience, product diversification, and the strengthening of local economic ecosystems. Her work bridges traditional agricultural knowledge with innovative business approaches, creating sustainable pathways for rural communities.
Her professional focus includes supporting women in agribusiness, developing rural value chains, and integrating heritage-based agricultural practices with modern entrepreneurial strategies. Through practical guidance, peer learning facilitation, and the application of entrepreneurial competencies, she actively contributes to the development of resilient rural and wine-sector communities.
Andrea Fodor is the president and founder of the Foglalkoztatási Célú Non-profit Szervezet (FOCENOSZ), a Hungarian non-profit organisation with over 25 years of experience in community development, education and social inclusion . Under her leadership, FOCENOSZ operates several key initiatives including the Újvárosi Tanoda, which supports disadvantaged and Roma students, and the Women’s Lab programme, which fosters women’s empowerment, sustainability awareness and rural entrepreneurship. Andrea has extensive experience in community building, social programme design and event organisation, bringing practical insights into capacity building, resilience and inclusive development. She has led multi-stakeholder conferences and workshops, including sessions on resilience and women’s economic participation, and supports women’s networks through tailored empowerment activities. She contributes grounded in grassroots leadership, community engagement, and the practical realities of rural enterprise development.
Edit Ránky is a pioneer in sustainable, organic agricultural development in Hungary and international business development, with professional experience spanning Hungary and Belgium. She has been actively involved in the organic sector initiatives and the promotion of environmentally responsible agricultural practices, contributing to the development of sustainable value chains and cross-border cooperation. With academic training and practical experience in business strategy and international partnerships, she has supported SMEs in market development, innovation and internationalisation processes, particularly within the Hungarian - Belgian business environment. Her areas of expertise include sustainable entrepreneurship, green transition strategies, EU policy frameworks and cross-border economic cooperation. She is highly experienced in strategic business development, sustainability integration and international market positioning for women agripreneurs operating in rural contexts. She is author of several publications in healthy nutrition and health promotion.
Bojana Kuzmanović serves as a Project Manager at Foodscale Hub. She graduated from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Novi Sad, specializing in Biology Education, where she successfully completed her first project. With over 15 years of experience in project preparation and implementation across various levels and with numerous donors, her key areas of interest include agriculture, rural development, environmental protection, and circular economy.
Tamara Trninić-Gondi is the Head of Communications at Foodscale Hub, with a background in marketing, journalism, and film and TV production. She has seven years of experience in broadcast journalism and six years in managing dissemination and communication for EU projects, alongside work in film and music festivals. She earned a Bachelor’s in marketing from the University of Novi Sad as well as two Master’s degrees—one in Marketing with a focus on Arts and Culture and another in Film Production. Her passion for cultural dialogues, languages, literature, the arts, and science shapes her approach to communications. At Foodscale Hub, she leads dissemination and communication for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects, overseeing the organization’s overall outreach.
Tamara Glišić Krivošija is a Business consultant at Foodscale Hub. She holds two master’s degrees in economics and European studies with completed training courses in Italy, the Netherlands and the US. She has over 10 years of proposal design and project implementation experience in EU-funded projects focusing on European territorial cooperation. She is a certified trainer for Management of programmes, projects and international development assistance with over 90 courses held over the years for representatives of civil society, business community and public administration. At Foodscale Hub, Tamara provides support for participation of various stakeholders in EU projects and exploitation activities. She is passionate about mentorship, volunteering and gender equality issues.
Maja Radišić is a Head of Operations at Foodscale Hub. She obtained an MSc degree at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences. She has more than 15 years of experience in the business and research sector, along with experience in business acceleration for innovative start-ups and SMEs. During her career, she has been involved in numerous large-scale international projects, with a project portfolio of over 100M EUR (involved in project implementation and)/or proposal preparation). Her main focus is mostly related to project management (project implementation and proposal writing); setting, conducting, and monitoring of the open calls; monitoring of the sub-projects & beneficiaries from the open calls; organization of promotional activities; contribution to the preparation of reports; organization of training sessions, etc.
Dušan Pevac is the Head of Finance at Foodscale Hub. He has experience working as an external accountant and payroll associate, working mostly with SMEs and entrepreneurs. Before that, he was an intern at NIS (Gazprom Neft), where he assisted senior financial analysts in cash flow calculations and preparing internal financial publications. Dušan got his bachelor’s degree in Finance, Banking, and Insurance and has completed his master’s thesis in Accounting and Audit.
