What are the World Food Forum (WFF) Startup Innovation Awards?
The WFF Startup Innovation Awards, powered by Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) are a global startup competition established to support and showcase innovators and entrepreneurs who are harnessing the power of technology to drive the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems in support of ending global hunger and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Made possible through a strategic partnership with XTC, the world’s largest startup competition for entrepreneurs addressing global challenges, these awards aim to elevate the next generation of entrepreneurs who are creating new technologies and innovations to benefit our planet and the agrifood systems we need to thrive.
Agrifood systems specialists, innovators and entrepreneurs from around the globe have volunteered to become experts and judges for the WFF Startup Innovation Awards.
Imagine, YOU, pitching your innovation to this panel — what a moment!
WFF Startup Innovation Awards mission
Technological and digital innovation will play a critical role in the future of our food. To address the unprecedented challenges facing our agrifood systems, we need to find new, actionable, innovative and inclusive solutions. We also need to ensure that these solutions take into account the complex, interrelated nature of global agrifood systems.
Through the WFF Startup Innovation Awards, WFF is seeking to identify, elevate and accelerate the growth of startups who show the greatest potential for a positive impact in transforming agrifood systems, aligned to one of four categories:
Digital Innovation in Food Processing
This Award aims to recognize and elevate startups that are leaders in digital and/or data solutions, which tackle and propose innovations in the following areas in the food processing industry: improved efficiency, higher quality, sustainable production and products, food safety and improving labor conditions.
Empowering Women in Agrifood Systems
This Award aims to recognize startups that are most impactfully increasing access of women to land, inputs, services, finance and digital technology to drive positive agrifood systems transformation, particularly in the Global South.
Food Loss
This Award aims to recognize startups that are developing innovative technological solutions to help reduce food loss within global agrifood systems, focusing on single or multiple interventions within agrifood supply chains, from post-harvest to throughout the supply chains up to the retail stage.
Good Food for All, for Today and Tomorrow
Based on the 2024 theme of the World Food Forum, this Award aims to identify and support global startups that are developing innovative, technology-based solutions to sustainably address food insecurity and access to healthy diets (including, but not limited to: sustainable production of livestock, fisheries and crops; responsible management of forests, wetlands, soil and water; and scaling up clean energy for sustainable agrifood systems transformation).
Why Apply for the WFF Startup Innovation Awards?
The WFF Startup Innovation Awards will provide the finalists travel allowance to the finals during the flagship event in Rome, global visibility, the chance to raise capital, network with global entities (governments, United Nations agencies, corporations, investors, partners), the chance to join WFF startup accelerator programmes to scale up their innovative solutions and technological breakthroughs, and a total of USD 30 000 in prizes.
WFF Startup Innovation Awards Application and timeline
The WFF Innovation Labs launched the Startup Innovation Awards, powered by Extreme Tech Challenge, on 8 May 2023 during UN Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Forum and will accept applications until 8 June. The competition is open to startups whose work impacts the four categories explained above.
Timeline
8 May 2024: Launch of the WFF Startup Innovation Awards, powered by XTC, during UN STI Forum via our website and social media.
8 June 2024: Deadline for new applications.
June – October 2024: The WFF-XTC selection team will narrow down the list of entrants to an initial group of shortlisted startups to be highlighted on our website and participate in the September semi-finals.
The eight finalist startups across the four categories will then give their pitches to the panel of judges in the Startup Innovation Awards Finals during the World Food Forum flagship event on World Food Day, 16 October, with the final award for each of the categories, as well as one overall winner, the WFF Startup Innovation of the Year Award
VISIT THE PAGE HERE AND APPLY
_________
Join our WhatsApp group and Telegram group to receive more opportunities
__________
Visit our social media pages on LinkedIn and Facebook
__________
ALSO CHECK: UNEP is recruiting for an Environmental Law Specialist: APPLY NOW!
