Let’s unpack applications for 2024 edition of Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) Programme with WFP
Here’s a deep dive into the applications we received for this year’s Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) Programme, which sought climate innovations in the MENA region.
By Sanjna Sudan
In the face of ongoing humanitarian crises, innovation is essential for enhancing the World Food Programme’s (WFP) capacity to respond effectively and efficiently. It helps scale solutions that can reduce future humanitarian needs, especially in a time when the repercussions of climate change have become our new reality.
WFP’s country offices are the heart of innovation. Supported by regional innovation hubs, the WFP Innovation Accelerator and the WFP Innovation Division, they enable WFP to tailor global strategies to meet the specific needs of local communities. But how do we at the WFP Innovation Accelerator help WFP’s country offices identify innovations that align with these urgent needs? Through collaboration! We begin with a careful, iterative process to identify these needs. Once we’re clear on what we’re seeking, we move to the next phase: sourcing the innovations.
Over the past summer, we launched the call for applications for the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator, focusing on innovations in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Recognizing that innovations that focus on local or regional needs offer the greatest potential for climate adaptation, we prioritized sourcing startups already operating in these countries or international ones that were particularly well-suited to meet the identified needs. Working closely with WFP country offices, NGOs and government officials, we outlined these needs in the call for application.
In response, we received 379 high-quality applications and are now selecting our top ten finalists, who will join us in Munich in November 2024 for an exciting bootcamp. We accepted applications from ventures across various stages, including research and ideation, early pre-seed, seed, growth and expansion. These ventures were either already operating in or open to working in any of our three target countries. The following graphs provide an overview of the application distribution by stage and country. Read on for a deeper dive into the applications we received.
Lebanon
In recent years, Lebanon has faced immense challenges that have affected every part of its society. The country has endured an economic crisis, environmental disasters, prolonged political deadlock and now, a war. Adding to these difficulties, climate change serves as a threat multiplier that exacerbates Lebanon’s existing challenges. Climate hazards are severely impacting agriculture, food production and consumption.
To address these pressing concerns, the call for applications for solutions in Lebanon specifically sought innovations such as those that use precision agriculture solutions to monitor factors like soil moisture, temperature, crop health and soil quality. Additionally, it focused on innovative financing solutions for smallholder farmers and agro-processors, including options for sustainable climate resilience and climate insurance solutions. Here’s a graph showing the stages of the applications received.
Jordan
Culturally and historically rich Jordan has emerged to be a resource-poor, food-deficit country with limited agricultural land and an increasing frequency of climate-related shocks in the past years. Over the past decade, its economy has remained stagnant, struggling to generate sufficient employment. Additionally, Jordan hosts the second-largest number of refugees per capita globally, further straining its resources.
To address these challenges, we sought innovations specifically tailored to Jordan’s needs. These included solutions that use microbes that can transform crops to handle abiotic stress better, affordable rainwater harvesting and crop responsive irrigation and fertigation systems to secure water availability during dry periods, among other related solutions. Here’s a graph showing the stages of the applications received:
Egypt
With a population of over 106 million, Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East. As climate change continues to be a global reality, Egypt’s already arid climate will face additional environmental stresses, including extreme temperatures, irregular rainfall, rising sea levels and land subsidence.
Furthermore, Egypt navigates a complex economic landscape marked by inflation, currency devaluation and the impacts of global and regional crises. To combat desertification and protect agricultural lands, we focused on sourcing solutions that offer innovative financing solutions that help smallholder farmers and agro-processors access the financial services necessary for sustainable climate resilience. We also looked for solutions that enable smallholder farmers to convert biomass and organic waste into high-quality agricultural inputs. Here’s a graph showing the stages of the applications received:
We were pleased to see the diversity and quality of this edition’s applications. Notably, one-third of the submissions were led by teams with a female-identifying team lead, reflecting meaningful progress in the region. While there is still room for improvement in achieving gender balance, the WFP Innovation Accelerator — whose team is 65 percent female with 67 percent women in leadership, remains committed to driving this shift forward.
Ten of the most promising innovation teams will be invited to participate in the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator’s bootcamp in November 2024.
If you missed the deadline for this challenge, remember that anyone can apply at any time through our rolling call for applications. We also launch targeted and thematic calls for applications, so be sure to check our website regularly and subscribe to our newsletter for updates.
The WFP Innovation Accelerator sources, supports, and scales high-potential solutions to end hunger and reach sustainable development goals worldwide. We provide WFP colleagues in country offices, entrepreneurs, start-ups, companies, and non-governmental organizations with access to funding, mentorship, hands-on support to scale.
Find out more about us: http://innovation.wfp.org. Subscribe to our e-newsletter. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and watch our videos on YouTube.
