UNDP Calls For Agriculture Startups To Participate In Cultiv@te Initiative

The United Nations Development Program has called for startups tackling challenges in Agriculture to participate in its Cultiv@te initiative.

Cultiv@te is bringing together a “coalition of partners and stakeholders that want to bring technology and innovation where it is most needed, combining globally-leading innovation with local knowledge, expertise and market insights.”

The challenge has 3 themes:

Urban agriculture: How do you leverage innovative technologies to rethink and create a sustainable food production system for the urban population?
Rainfed agriculture: How can you maximise agricultural productivity to meet the challenges posed by climate change?
Livestock farming and aquaculture: How do you ensure safe, sustainable livestock farming and lessen the environmental impact of current practices?

Participants will get to solve 1 of 13 challenge statements under the 3 themes, with 78 teams being chosen. From here, a shortlist of 52 teams will be selected.

Winners will get the following:

Access to UNDP’s global network of development practitioners and experts in 170 offices (143 in emerging markets) who provide contextual knowledge, convening power and market intelligence in their respective market;
Membership in a purpose-led coalition of like-minded development partners (development agencies, not-for-profit organisations, interest groups, etc.) that builds mutual respect and trust;
Research and development opportunities through active participation in the ideation, prototyping and testing of innovative solutions;
Scalable, commercially viable and investable solutions generated through a collaborative process that secures a greater degree of buy-in and commitment from all involved;
New local, regional and global partnerships between you and participating innovators (e.g. joint ventures, collaboration agreements, investment partnerships, etc.);

Participants will be judged on the impact of their solution (30%), how innovative the solution is (25%), Relevancy (20%), feasibility (20%) and clarity (5%).

If you’re interested in participating in the Cultiv@te challenge, follow this link