Agricultural Innovation for Climate Resilience Program

Do you have an innovation that supports farmers and other agriculture stakeholders to build capabilities to mitigate the effects of climate change in low- and middle-income countries?

The Agricultural Innovation for Climate Resilience Program (AICR), a partnership between the WFP Innovation Accelerator and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and its Fund for the Promotion of Innovation in Agriculture (i4Ag), commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is in search of scalable innovative
solutions that support farmers and other agriculture stakeholders to build capabilities to mitigate effects of climate change on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Climate change adversely affects agriculture as rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, extreme weather events, pests and diseases pose enormous challenges for smallholder farmers and alter growing conditions, leading to decreased crop yield. Climate change aggravates existing inequalities, with small-scale farmers, women and marginalized communities being hit hardest. It is crucial for us to address climate change to secure a sustainable future for agriculture and food systems.

Eligibility

• Your solution should be part of an established legal entity in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and Madagascar (for-profit or social enterprise).
• The applicant organization must have a presence and be locally rooted in the country of implementation: country office or other permanent presence.
• Your innovation clearly addresses one or more of the priority topics related to building climate resilience in agriculture and the food sector in any of the target countries. 
• Your innovation must be at least at the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage; or Proof of concept with a validated prototype.
• Your innovation has a verified potential commercial value and impact.
• Solution should have a committed founding team with at least 5 full time employees.
• Applicants should be able to provide evidence of user/customer validation of the value proposition.
• Ventures should be in the process of developing a clear path to commercial viability (business model fit).
• Solutions should have a potential plan to implement as part of the 6- to 9-month Sprint program.
• Innovations should change existing or establish new routines and have a positive impact on one or more of the following aspects: food security, employment and income generation and/or climate resilience and natural resource protection.
• The beneficiaries of the innovative solutions should be small-scale farmers, food processing companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, consumers, youth and/or women.
• Ventures should be able to demonstrate they have a diverse, non-discriminatory, gender balanced venture with demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurial mindset and what the vision of the team is.
• We prioritize ventures that focus on promoting gender equality and empowering women, either through their beneficiaries, job creation, or by having a high representation of women in leadership positions.
• These solutions would be focused on one or more of the priority topics: Space-efficient Innovations, Soil-Saving Innovations, Water-Saving Innovations and Renewable Energy Solutions

Evaluation Criteria

1. Impact & Scalability: Applicants should have a defined vision, an identified target group, and be able to demonstrate the potential to solve the posed challenge(s). 
2. Team: Applicants should be able to demonstrate they have a diverse, non-discriminatory, gender balanced organization with demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurial mindset.
3. Novelty: Applicants should be able to show how their solution and business model are innovative while being technically suitable, and viable.
4.  Traction: Applicants should be able to present evidence of feasibility and adoption by the target group. 
5. Business Model: Applicants should demonstrate the viability of their business model, how they intend to achieve a sustainable business, pricing, and financial model.

Benefits

• Selected teams will be invited to participate in a 4-day fully virtual WFP Innovation Bootcamp in July 2023.
• Selected ventures will also be able to apply for the WFP Sprint Programme, which is a 6-
  to 9-month acceleration program with access to: 

o  Support from the WFP Innovation Accelerator and relevant partners through the duration of their Sprints.

o  Mentorship and access to a global network of relevant stakeholders in the humanitarian, business and international development cooperation space.

o  Up to US$150,000 in equity-free funding for the implementation of a proposed growth
plan. 

• Solutions that have proven their concepts, scale, and value for social impact could qualify for further funding and support in future programmes or events in our alumni community.