Climate Adaptation Innovation Accelerator Programme

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.

Benefits

• Invitation to participate in a four-day WFP Innovation in-person Bootcamp in Munich.
• Access to WFP’s field operations and 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 that will be 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 stage and expansion stage solutions.
• Exposure to national and international funders through an online pitch event at the end of the programme.

What they are looking for?

• For this Innovation Challenge, the WFP Innovation Accelerator is looking for both low- and hightech solutions specifically tailored to meet distinct climate adaptation challenges in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon along the food system value chain.
  • For Egypt:
    • 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; and
    • solutions that enable vulnerable communities to adopt climate-adaptive livelihoods while creating youth employment and sustainable jobs through eco-friendly practices.
  • For Jordan:
    • 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-genetically modified organism (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 postharvest losses and minimise food waste;
    • solutions that convert agricultural and organic waste into affordable agricultural inputs or animal feed; and
    • solutions that enable the aggregation of supply from smallholder farmers and establish transparent, fair links to higher markets.
  • For Lebanon:
    • 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 behaviour 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; and
    • 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 operation 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 more information, visit World Food Programme.