$50,000 Post-Harvest Loss Innovation Prize Call for Applications (For, Kenya, Nigeria and India Smallholder Farmers)

We are looking for ground-breaking ways to help smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia minimize post-harvest loss.

The Challenge

Approximately one-third of all food produced worldwide is lost or discarded before it is consumed. This results in large financial losses and needless greenhouse gas emissions throughout the agricultural value chain.

The 500 million smallholder farmers in emerging markets who experience at least a 15% reduction in income due to post-harvest losses are disproportionately affected by food waste across all stakeholders.

The majority of these smallholder farmers are without consistent access to energy and reside in rural locations. In addition to using energy for irrigation and harvesting in primary production, smallholder farmers also use it for processing, storing, preserving, shipping, and distributing their products.

Therefore, increasing the amount of energy used for transportation, processing, and storage in sustainable, economical, and efficient ways is necessary to reduce food and post-harvest loss.

The Opportunity

In order to raise farmer incomes in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Shell Foundation and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom are working to decrease post-harvest losses. Implementing scalable, affordable solutions that meet smallholder farmers’ post-harvest needs is essential to achieving this goal. Encouraging sustainable agriculture practices while utilizing clean energy technologies should be the goal of these solutions.

Farmers can gain triple benefits by reducing post-harvest losses through sustainable and economical methods: higher yields, higher revenues, and enhanced climate resilience. Many of the technologies currently available are too expensive for smallholder farmers, even though the number of options (such as cold storage units) has increased. Therefore, it’s critical to create solutions that are doable, scalable, and inexpensive for smallholder farmers’ operations in order to persuade more of them to adopt innovations that lower post-harvest losses and reverse the trend of food waste.

About Factor E Ventures and the Shell Foundation

With the help of the Shell Foundation, FCDO, ISF Advisors, MicroSave Consulting (MSC), and AndMore Associates, Factor E Ventures is leading the Post Harvest Loss Innovation Prize, which aims to find the next major technological advancement that will help smallholder farmers experience fewer post-harvest losses.

Founded by Shell in 2000, the Shell Foundation is a charity with registration in England and Wales that develops and grows commercial solutions that enable marginalized communities to use sustainable energy technologies to provide a living wage. It has a strategic alliance with the FCDO of the UK Government to expedite smallholder farmers’ and agricultural SMEs’ (small and medium-sized businesses’) access to energy-enabled solutions in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

About Factor E Ventures and the Shell Foundation

With the help of the Shell Foundation, FCDO, ISF Advisors, MicroSave Consulting (MSC), and AndMore Associates, Factor E Ventures is leading the Post Harvest Loss Innovation Prize, which aims to find the next major technological advancement that will help smallholder farmers experience fewer post-harvest losses.

Founded by Shell in 2000, the Shell Foundation is a charity with registration in England and Wales that develops and grows commercial solutions that enable marginalized communities to use sustainable energy technologies to provide a living wage. It has a strategic alliance with the FCDO of the UK Government to expedite smallholder farmers’ and agricultural SMEs’ (small and medium-sized businesses’) access to energy-enabled solutions in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

One impact investment company, Factor E, finds and funds answers to some of the most difficult development and climate issues facing the globe. Factor E speeds up innovation’s beneficial effects on economies, environments, and communities by operating at the nexus of risk capital, technology, and emerging markets.

About the Prize

The goal of the Post Harvest Loss Innovation Prize is to find creative ways to help smallholder farmers in emerging markets experience less post-harvest loss. The award’s funding is not limited.

The winning candidate will receive more than just a $50,000 cash payout from this prize. The opportunity to network with seasoned business executives and get media attention for their inventive ideas are provided to finalists. The winner will also benefit from access to Factor E’s post investment support . Gain the resources and recognition you need to accelerate your agritech journey, grow your innovation, and create impact.

The Factor E investment team will evaluate applications, and on September 17th, the top five finalists will be revealed. The last announcement of awards is scheduled for September 25, 2024.

How are applications going to be evaluated?

We give top priority to creative solutions that have the ability to significantly influence our target markets. While not all requirements must be met, the following important considerations are used to assess submissions:

• Innovation: The innovation must be for smallholder farmers. Submissions should demonstrate a novel approach to solving a problem faced by farmers in emerging markets. Innovative solutions are defined as technologies, business models, hardware and/or software that have the potential to become commercially viable.
• Solution Validation: We are seeking solutions that have undergone successful testing, either in a controlled laboratory environment or directly in the field.
• Global Applicability: Innovations can come from any geography globally but must have relevance for direct application in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa with the ability to scale to other emerging markets in the future.
• Gender Impact: We prioritize solutions with a demonstrably positive impact on female farmers.
• Scalability and Reach: The ideal solution should have a clear path to scale with significant commercial returns in the future. The technology should have a direct economic impact with the potential to empower over 1 million farmers and demonstrate future return on investment (ROI).
• Farm-Level Implementation: The solution should be designed for use by farmers, not through retail channels.
• Minimal Behavioral Change: Solutions with a low barrier to adoption are preferred. They should require minimal adjustments to farmers’ existing routines.
• Financial Traction: Evidence of progress towards financial sustainability is a positive factor. Prior fundraising success is also considered.
• Technology Readiness Level (TRL): We look for well-developed technologies at or beyond the validation stage, with preferably existing paying customers.
• Founding Team: A strong, balanced, and diverse founding team with a proven and visionary leader (CEO) is crucial.

Eligibility

Applications may be submitted by any entity including startups, universities, non-profit organizations or for-profit companies.

Submission

To ensure your application is considered, please submit it through the Google Form below by August 14, 2024:
Submit here 

Nominate

Do you know a deserving candidate? We encourage nominations of qualified startups, companies, or groups!  Help us find the most promising participants by submitting your nominations through the form below:

Deadline: Aug 14, 2024

Click HERE to Apply

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