The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog (Govt. of India); Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Rabo Foundation; International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); and Bayer, is launching an innovation platform to enable cross-border exchange of innovations, insights and investments.
The first initiative of the Platform is the Agritech Challenge (‘Programme’), with a focus on improving financial health of smallholder farmers. The Programme will support agritech and agri-fintech startups to expand to international markets, across Kenya, Malawi, Uganda & Zambia in Africa, and Malaysia, India & Indonesia in Asia.
The selected participants will get access to industry, investor & market linkages, along with mentorship from sector experts to help them build and test their solution in their chosen international market, with subsequent support on scaling the solution as well.
Eligibility Requirements
Applications are invited from participants that meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Registered Entity: A startup registered in any of the participating countries, with at least 2 years of operations
- Revenue: At least USD $ 150,000 average annual revenue in the last 2 years; or USD 100,000 average annual revenue in the last years
Solution
Live solution with an active customer and/or user base, and not in development/testing phase
Applications are invited from participants that meet the following eligibility criteria:
Registered Entity: A startup registered in any of the participating countries, with at least 2 years of operations
Revenue: At least USD $ 150,000 average annual revenue in the last 2 years; or USD 100,000 average annual revenue in the last years
Solution
Live solution with an active customer and/or user base, and not in development / testing phase
Participation Benefits
Market Access: Linkages with industry / market partners and local innovators to help co-create and pilot solution in the chosen market
Expansion Guidance: Guidance from innovations hubs and experts on solution framework and regulatory and compliance landscape
Sector Insights: Mentoring and support from a network of country and ecosystem partners around sector insights and local market linkages
Investor Showcase: Opportunity to connect and showcase business to an investor network and raise capital to support the scale up
Continued Support
Post-program support to scale up the solution
Opportunity to be considered for financial grant
Application Deadline: August 30th, 2021
