Previous winners of the competition include AquaGenius, an organisation developing a sustainable aquaculture industry in West Africa © Shutterstock
Hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) – a global organisation committed to advancing the world’s food industries – and funded by the Seeding the Future Foundation – a non-profit trying to ensure equitable, safe, and affordable access to food for all – the annual Global Food System Challenge aims to accelerate the pace of innovations needed to transform food systems to become more nutritious, regenerative, and equitable.
“Science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship can transform food systems on a global level as the need for human-centred and high-impact climate-positive solutions that are scalable becomes more urgent every year,” said Seeding The Future Foundation founder Bernhard van Lengerich, in a press release.
“The purpose of the Challenge is to inspire and reward teams of innovators who are creating impactful ideas that address the most relevant issues facing food systems globally. Solutions with the highest likelihood to win are those that focus on the intersection of safe and nutritious food, sustainable practices, and equitable access to food that is affordable, appealing and trusted,” he added.
The competition aims to incentivise innovation at all levels, from idea generation to implementation and scale-up, and is aimed at all food systems, including aquaculture. The competition offers three levels of awards. These include up to eight seed grants of $25,000 for organisations that have developed an innovative prototype or proof of concept; up to three grants of $100,000 for organisations that have validated their concept and seek to scale-up; and up to two prizes of $250,000 for organisations that have created innovations that are feasible at scale, and have demonstrated major impact potential benefitting the lives and health of people and the environment.
Additionally, applicants who pass the first phases of the review process can earn a spot in the Seeding the Future Global Food System Innovation Database and Network, a searchable database of applicants and their innovations. This database will be available to global organisations such as the FAO and the World Food Programme. The database will also be available to the investment community looking to provide capital for innovative organisations that meet their respective investment criteria.
Applications for the Global Food System Challenge close on January 6, 2025.
