Call for Applications: Climate Adaptation Innovation Accelerator Programme

Climate change is affecting every region of the world and driving global hunger. In the past decade, 1.7 billion people have faced extreme weather events and climate-related disasters. Communities contributing the least to the climate crisis suffer the most, with limited means to cope.

The WFP Innovation Accelerator, with support from the Adaptation Fund, has launched the Climate Adaptation Innovation Accelerator Programme as part of the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) partnership. This initiative aims to identify, support, and scale high-impact innovations that enhance climate adaptation in vulnerable regions.

The food system, encompassing all actors and value-adding activities involved in natural resource management, production, transformation, distribution, and consumption, is crucial in the climate adaptation space. Each stage of the food value chain faces unique challenges due to the impacts of climate change. The programme addresses every link of this chain by promoting innovative solutions that enhance resilience and adaptability.

We call on innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers to bring forward groundbreaking solutions to drive resilience, enhance climate adaptability, and promote sustainable development in affected communities. The programme aims to support high-potential ventures with funding, mentorship, and hands-on support, preparing them for successful scaling. The accelerator programme aims to foster local and global collaborations, increase knowledge and evidence for climate adaptation, and promote successful climate innovations. By strengthening local capacities and fostering partnerships, we strive to enhance climate resilience and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 2: ‘Zero Hunger’ and SDG 13: ‘Climate Action.’

Join us in innovating, adapting, and building a more resilient future for communities on the front lines of climate change.

Application Deadline: 4 August 2024, 11:59 pm (CEST)

What We Offer

This partnership between the WFP Innovation Accelerator and the Adaptation Fund through the Climate Adaptation Innovation Accelerator Programme aims to enhance climate adaptation and gender equity, foster inclusive economic opportunities, engage youth, and increase community resilience. By supporting groundbreaking climate innovations, the programme will boost local, regional, and global collaborations, expand the knowledge base for climate adaptation, and deliver sustainable solutions for vulnerable populations, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals and building a more resilient future for communities worldwide.

What we offer to boost innovations:

• Invitation to participate in a four-day WFP Innovation in-person Bootcamp in Munich.
• Access to WFP’s field operations and the opportunity to engage in comprehensive field testing.
• Expert innovation management assistance from the WFP Innovation Accelerator.
• Extensive visibility across multiple WFP social media channels and other platforms.
• Access to a diverse pool of mentors from various sectors and top-tier organizations.
• Six-month Sprint Programme combining business-oriented training, mentoring, and technical assistance from the WFP Innovation Accelerator.
• More than US$ 1 million in equity-free funding will be available for 8-10 startups admitted to the sprint programme through competitive grants based on the stage of your solution:
  • Up to US$ 120,000 per venture for seed-stage solutions.
  • Up to US$ 200,000 per venture for growth and expansion stage solutions.
• Exposure to national and international funders through an online pitch event at the end of the programme.

What We Are Looking For

For this Innovation Challenge, the WFP Innovation Accelerator is looking for both low- and high-tech solutions specifically tailored to meet distinct climate adaptation challenges in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon along the food system value chain. We aim to identify and support exceptional innovations from around the world that hold the potential to address these challenges on a significant scale. Applicants are requested to showcase a high-impact, scalable solution that matches the below call for solutions.

For Egypt, we are looking for:

• Affordable climate information services and early warning solutions that can provide smallholder farmers in remote locations with weather information, both online and offline, to adapt to extreme climate conditions.
• Off-grid and climate-friendly solutions that desalinate groundwater at a low cost for agricultural usage.
• Low-cost, accessible, non-genetically modified organism (GMO) drought-tolerant crop varieties that enhance resilience and productivity in water-scarce regions, as well as crops suitable for saline soil conditions in salt-affected areas.
• Affordable smart irrigation solutions to optimize water usage efficiency for crops, monitor soil moisture, highlight crop needs, or automate water delivery based on real-time data.
• Low-cost organic fertilizers for smallholder farmers or solutions that convert biomass and organic waste into high-quality agricultural inputs.
• Affordable off-grid processing units that extend shelf-life, reduce post-harvest losses, and minimize food loss.
• Solutions that enable vulnerable communities to adopt climate-adaptive livelihoods while creating youth employment and sustainable jobs through eco-friendly practices.

For Jordan, we are looking for:

• Solutions that utilize soil conditioners to enhance water retention and boost agricultural productivity in arid regions.
• Affordable and easy-to-implement technologies for complementary irrigation to enhance water efficiency and agricultural productivity.
• Non-GMO drought-tolerant crop varieties to enhance resilience and productivity in water-scarce regions, as well as crops suitable for saline soil conditions to boost agricultural productivity in salt-affected areas.
• Innovative water management technologies to reduce evaporation and improve water use efficiency, or affordable water harvesting systems to ensure water availability during dry periods.
• Off-grid processing units for horticultural production that extend shelf-life and reduce post-harvest losses and minimize food waste.
• Solutions that convert agricultural and organic waste into affordable agricultural inputs or animal feed.
• Solutions that enable the aggregation of supply from smallholder farmers and establish transparent, fair links to higher markets.

For Lebanon, we are looking for:

• Precision agriculture solutions to monitor soil moisture, temperature, crop health, soil conditions, or pest activity in real-time enabling smallholder farmers to use resources precisely.
• Affordable off-grid irrigation technologies to reduce water usage and enhance agricultural productivity and resilience in remote areas.
• Solutions for pastoralists to manage pests, diseases, and monitor livestock health and behavior in real-time.
• Innovative financing solutions for smallholder farmers and agro-processors necessary for sustainable climate resilience or climate insurance solutions that offer quick and transparent payouts based on weather indexes.
• Eco-friendly solutions to eliminate pests and damaging pathogens to protect crops and enhance soils for plant health improvement while maintaining environmental sustainability.
• Affordable off-grid cold mobile storage solutions to enhance food preservation and reduce post-harvest losses in areas without reliable access to electricity.
• Solutions that convert agricultural and food waste into affordable inputs such as compost, biochar, organic fertilizers, or animal feed.

Eligibility Criteria

• Your organization must be an established legal entity (for-profit, not-for-profit, social business, NGO, INGO).
• Your organization should have a presence or willingness to build a presence in one of the three countries of implementation (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon). This could take the form of a country office or other permanent presence, subsidiary, long-term operations, or partnerships in the country.
• Your innovation addresses at least one of the above-mentioned priority areas related to pressing challenges faced in the climate adaptation space of the country of implementation.
• Your innovation must be at least in the seed stage. Solutions that are still at the idea, research, or early pre-seed stage are not eligible.
• Your innovation should have a clear pathway to scale, adequate resources, and a proposed plan to implement during the six-month Sprint Programme with the available funding.
• Applicants are expected to have strong intentions to collaborate with relevant humanitarian stakeholders, build relationships with the country offices, and connect with the innovation ecosystems.
• Interventions classified as Category A based on the environmental and social sustainability framework indicating a high risk of irreversible adverse impacts will not be accepted. For further details on risk categories, kindly refer to WFP’s environmental and social sustainability framework, specifically paragraph 23 on page 8.

Following the above-mentioned requirements, your application will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Level of innovation/innovativeness: The solution is novel, innovative, and has a strong climate adaptation aspect regarding the mentioned themes.
• Relevance to the context: The solution addresses at least one of the above-mentioned priority areas, is suitable to at least one of the three country contexts, and provides concrete solutions to end-users or the ecosystem.
• Business model and scalability of the solution: The solution showcases a clear business model and a robust sustainable revenue model relative to its maturity stage.
• Team expertise and capabilities: Proven competence, technical coherence, commitment, motivation, entrepreneurial mindset, and a diverse and inclusive team.
• Climate adaptation: The solution effectively enhances resilience to climate impacts, promotes sustainable practices, and improves resource efficiency.
• Level of impact: Evidence of tangible historical and projected impact towards solving a defined challenge related to climate adaptation.
• Environmental and social sustainability: The solution adheres to the environmental and social principles of the Adaptation Fund.

Application Process

• To submit your application, please fill out the Application Form by 4 August 2024, 11:59 pm (CEST). Please note that only English submissions will be accepted.
• We will review and select 8 to 10 successful applications in September, inviting those selected to our bootcamp in November. Please note that acceptance into the bootcamp does not guarantee you will receive funding. The bootcamp teams will go through an additional assessment phase, and only successful candidates will be awarded equity-free funding.
• For more information, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions.

About the WFP Innovation Accelerator

The WFP Innovation Accelerator was established in 2015 by the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), and the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Tourism (StMELF). Its goal is to source new ideas, sprint pilot projects, and scale high-impact innovations by connecting them with WFP’s global network and field operations in over 120 countries and territories. From its base in Munich, Germany, the WFP Innovation Accelerator runs programmes addressing a wide range of social impact and sustainability issues, including climate change, primary healthcare, gender equality, and emergency response. In 2023, the WFP Innovation Accelerator ran 14 programmes, and its portfolio, comprising over 70 innovations and 66 alumni innovation initiatives, reached 60.7 million individuals across 70 countries and territories. Since its launch, innovations supported by the WFP Innovation Accelerator have secured over USD 295 million in grant funding.

Learn more about us at innovation.wfp.org.