The FoodTech Challenge seeks to find the next wave of technology innovations that are on the cusp of transforming food and traditional agriculture practices, efficiently and sustainably. Targeted at early-stage start-ups, ranging from international university-based research teams to individual entrepreneurs and small firms, the competition invites innovations related to two critical areas: ‘food production to address the availability and abundance of food and explore ‘next gen’, nutrient-rich alternatives, and ‘food loss and waste’ to ensure sustainability across the food supply chain and the planet more broadly.

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In September 2019, the UAE Food Security Office (now part of the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment) and Tamkeen launched the FoodTech Challenge, a global competition seeking the world’s most innovative solutions to address Food Security.

The inaugural competition had a prize pool of $1m USD and was held in collaboration with Masdar, Catalyst, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Office, and Accenture. It received 437 submissions from leading food and agritech start-ups across 68 countries, with four winning teams, announced at a competitive awards ceremony held in November 2020.

This year, they are launching the second edition of the FoodTech Challenge, with a focus on finding the next wave of technologies that are on the cusp of transforming food and traditional agriculture practices, efficiently and sustainably.

They are looking for exciting start-ups that offer solutions in two critical areas: ‘food production to address the availability and abundance of food and explore ‘next gen’, nutrient-rich alternatives, and ‘food loss and waste’ to ensure sustainability across the food supply chain and the planet more broadly.

10 finalist teams will be selected by leading industry experts, before competing at a two-day event featuring workshops, networking sessions, panel discussions and an awards ceremony in November 2022.

Four winning teams will be selected and awarded a share of the $2m USD prize pool consisting of cash awards and opportunities for grants, incentive schemes, and start-up acceleration support.

The 2022 competition is brought to you by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and Tamkeen, in association with Aspire. The FoodTech Challenge is delighted to welcome ADQ and Silal as the track partners for food production-related submissions, and the Emirates Foundation as the track partner for food loss and waste.

Benefits

THE AWARD

  • The winner will receive a total prize pool that is valued at the US $2 Million and consists of cash awards, incentive schemes, start-up acceleration, and R&D support.

Eligibilities

  • The competition is open to all participants above 18 years old.
  • They are specifically looking for early-stage agrifood tech start-ups within Food Production and Food Loss and Waste.
  • To be eligible to participate, your start-up should: Address ‘Food Production’ or ‘Food Loss and Waste’ segments of the value chain, have not yet gone for a Series-A funding round, have a workable minimum viable product, have been in operation for less than 5 years, have no more than 25 employees.
Eligible Regions: Open for all

Application Process

  • To participate in the FoodTech Challenge, you will need to create an account on the competition submission portal using your email address.
  • You will then receive an email to validate your email account.
  • After you have created an account and verified your email address, log in to access the application form.
  • You will have to provide information about your organisation and proposed solution, along with short responses to several prompts.
  • You will then be asked to provide Supporting Information. You have two options, depending on your preferences: Option 1: Early Submission, Option 2: Regular Submission.
  • All applications must be completed in English.

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Application Deadline: June 24, 2022

Application ClosedOfficial link

For Further Queries

For more information contact them at [email protected]
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