What We Learned from Analyzing Applications for the 2025 Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator
We received 578 applications for this year’s Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator, all aiming to tackle urgent emergency and humanitarian challenges. If you’re planning to run a similar programme, here are a few key insights that might help guide your approach.
By Sanjna Sudan and Nourdine Khalifeh
As extreme weather events, conflict and displacement escalate, humanitarian needs continue to grow outpacing the resources available to address them. At the World Food Programme (WFP) Innovation Accelerator, we believe meeting these rising challenges requires a fundamental shift: from reactive approaches to proactive, technology-powered solutions that provide crisis-affected populations with access to information, financial resources and essential infrastructure. From enabling access to life-saving information and financial tools to strengthening emergency coordination, we seek solutions that meet people where they are and help them move forward.
That is where the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator (HIA) comes in. Powered by the Government of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg in partnership with WFP Innovation Accelerator, the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator is on a mission to source, support and scale bold, tech-driven innovations that can transform how communities prepare for, respond to and recover from crises.
Building on the success of our first cohort, we opened our second global call for applications this March and were thrilled by the response. We received 578 submissions from organizations across all stages of development, from early-stage concepts to ventures already scaling across multiple regions. We leveraged our network and social media presence and especially called for solutions that could be implemented in regions facing acute challenges and requiring substantial humanitarian support.
What can you learn from this?
If you’re running a similar programme, insights from our 2025 Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator application could offer valuable benchmarks to refine your own scouting, selection and support strategies. By understanding the types of solutions being proposed across sectors, geographies and technology readiness levels peer accelerators can identify emerging gaps, adapt to evolving needs in the humanitarian space and align more effectively with funders and global goals.
We leveraged our presence on LinkedIn, X, newsletters and word of mouth from our innovation communities to effectively reach our target applicant groups across geographies.
Applications by Theme
To address some of the gaps we’ve observed across the humanitarian sector, our team sought applications that aligned their innovations with one of four key themes: bridging information gaps, enabling financial inclusion, strengthening essential infrastructure and enhancing humanitarian response through data and technology.
We also welcomed wildcard submissions: disruptive technologies from other sectors with strong potential for adaptation in humanitarian and emergency contexts. These bold, cross-cutting innovations represent the kind of forward thinking needed to transform how the world anticipates and responds to crises.
Take a look at the graph below to see which themes attracted the most applications:
Applications by Stage
We received applications from ventures at all stages of development, including idea stage, early stage and transition to scale and scale-up. These ventures were either already operating in or actively planning to expand into our target countries.
The following graph provides an overview of applications by startup stage:
Headquarters Location
We welcomed both local and global innovations aligned with our priority themes, with a strong emphasis on solutions that could be implemented in high-need regions. These included: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.
While we encouraged applications from organizations already operating in these regions, we also encouraged submissions from those based elsewhere, provided they had a clear intention and capability to scale into these locations. At WFP Innovation Accelerator, we prioritize enabling local and regional innovations, because we believe that the most effective solutions often come from those closest to the challenges.
This is because innovators bring deep commitment, contextual understanding and the courage to try what hasn’t yet been done in their communities. However, they often face systemic barriers such as limited funding, access to resources, or business experience. By investing in their potential, WFP not only helps remove these obstacles but also fosters long-term, sustainable development. While we met most of the criteria, we do see ourselves making our sourcing even more targeted in the future.
The graph below offers a high-level view of where applicant organizations are headquartered:
We are now in the process of selecting our top eight finalists, who will join us for Innovation Weeks in June, where the finalists will engage with WFP experts, refine their solutions and accelerate their impact. They will be supported on their pathway to scale by solidifying their business model and growth plan, strengthening their impact strategies and connecting with WFP experts, partners and the broader humanitarian ecosystem.
Following this phase, teams will have the opportunity to submit their sprint proposals. Four of the eight ventures will be selected to implement their sprint plans and will undergo a rigorous due diligence process. Once approved, the teams will be inducted into HIA’s 12-months sprint cohort and awarded funding of up to US$150,000.
Keep watching this space for more information about the programme!
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The Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator Programme 2025, a collaborative effort between the WFP Innovation Accelerator and the Government of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. It seeks high-impact innovative solutions to address the pressing emergency and humanitarian challenges faced by vulnerable populations and humanitarian actors.
With a core focus on leveraging technology, this programme supports and nurtures solutions that can effectively tackle global challenges within the humanitarian sphere. Through a meticulous selection process, ventures and solution providers are chosen to receive comprehensive support including financial backing, technical expertise and methodological guidance from the WFP Innovation Accelerator and its esteemed partners.
