WFP Innovation Accelerator Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx) for African Startups 2023

The Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx) is a programme by the WFP Innovation Accelerator and the Smart Development Fund (#SDF), and powered by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU). DGIx is in search of high-impact digital ventures and projects solving some of the most pressing environmental challenges in selected countries.

Digital transformation can play a major role in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss in low- and middle-income countries. A “twin transition” approach recognises this large and untapped role of technology and data to drive sustainability: instead of thinking about digitalization (using technology) and sustainability (taking care of the planet) separately, a twin transition strategy believes that these two changes can work together. It states that the technologies that help the environment and the ones that enable digital transformation, can both help us create stronger, more flexible, and better economies.

The DGIx aims to support technology-powered solutions addressing pressing environmental challenges. The programme will select ventures, solution providers and consortiums who will receive financial, technical, and methodological support from the WFP Innovation Accelerator, #SDF, and other partners. Together with the best and brightest minds globally, we will be able to leverage the digital-green synergies to ultimately improve the lives of vulnerable communities.

• Table of Content
• About World Food Programme (WFP)
• Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx)
• Aim and Benefits of Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx)
• Requirements for Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx) Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx)
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About World Food Programme (WFP)

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Innovation Accelerator sources, supports and scales high-impact innovations to achieve Zero Hunger. Based in Munich, Germany, we provide WFP employees, entrepreneurs and startups with funding, hands-on support and access to WFP’s global operations. Through the Innovation Accelerator, WFP is leveraging unprecedented advances in digital innovation—such as mobile technology, artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain—and new business models to transform the way we serve vulnerable communities across the world. Building on... continue reading

Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx)

Aim and Benefits of Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx)

The WFP Innovation Accelerator has a track record of organizing over 45 flagship innovation bootcamps to date, supporting over 395 teams to rapidly refine their innovations, field testing over 120 projects, and bringing disruptive innovations to scale. Join a high-impact network of disruptive innovations that have reached over 37 Million people in 2022 alone. 

The Smart Development Fund #SDF has so far refined, supported, and scaled 8 digital solutions from the global south expanding their impact in 32 countries, partnering with more than 360 institutions from the public, private, and social sector, directly benefiting 1.5 million persons and reaching more than 13 million individuals. 

With a wealth of experience and profound expertise, the WFP Innovation Accelerator and the GIZ programme’s Smart Development Fund #SDF, join their efforts to support digital innovations accelerate their growth and expand their impact globally.

Requirements for Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx) Qualification

DGIx aims to leverage the aforementioned interconnectedness between digitalisation and climate change by utilising the potential of ventures and consortiums developing digital tools for climate action in the following areas:

• Adaptation: reducing potential damages and vulnerability associated with climate change.
• Mitigation: curbing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Resilience: anticipating, preparing, and recovering while incurring minimal damages.

More details about these topics and examples of use cases can be found here. 

Please take the following factors into consideration before submitting your application to our programme: 

• Your organization must have a presence (e.g., in the form of a country office or other permanent presence, subsidiary, long-term operations, etc.) and be locally rooted in the country of implementation.  
• Your organization must be an established legal entity (for-profit, not-for-profit, social enterprise) for at least 2 years.
• Your innovation must be at least at the validated prototype stage, ideally with proof of traction, and a verified potential commercial value and impact.
• Your innovation should clearly address one or more of the priority innovation areas. 

• Your innovation should have a clear pathway to scale (capacity to be adapted, expanded, replicated or scaled) along with a well defined implementation plan ready to be executed during the 12-month accelerator period using the available funding. 
• Applications from consortiums and cooperations with local NGOs are highly encouraged. 
• Solutions using open formats and approaches (Open Data, Open Hardware, Free and Open-Source Software, collaborative mapping and crowd-sensing) are encouraged.  
• At least one of the team members must be fluent in English.
• We prioritize ventures that focus on promoting gender equality and empowering women, either through their beneficiaries, job creation, or by having a high representation of women in leadership positions.
• We also encourage applications from youth-led ventures.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Digital Green Innovation Acceleration Programme (DGIx)

Selection

• Impact & Scalability: applicants should have a defined vision, an identified target group, and be able to demonstrate the potential to solve the posed challenge(s).  
• Team: applicants should be able to demonstrate having a diverse, non-discriminatory, and inclusive organization with demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurial mindset. 
• Novelty: applicants should be able to show how their solution and business model are innovative while being technically suitable and viable.
• Traction: applicants should be able to present evidence of feasibility and adoption by the target group. 
• Business Model: applicants should demonstrate the viability of their business model, how they intend to achieve a sustainable business, pricing, and financial model. 

*We reserve the right to adjust eligibility criteria based on the changing context as new information becomes available. 

Application Deadline

How to Apply

• To submit your application, please fill in the Application Form before 24 September 2023 11:59 pm (CET).  
• Or, if you know a relevant venture or solution for us to consider for this programme, please let us know by filling out this Referral Submission Form. 
• An information session will be held on 19 September 2:00 – 3:00 pm (CET) to answer any questions from interested applicants, feel free to register here. 
• We will review and select successful applications to participate in a fully virtual WFP Innovation Bootcamp in December 2023. While we value all applications, we are only able to contact shortlisted applicants.  
• Interested, but don’t feel your idea is ready yet? Don’t let this stop you! You can still send your application as we are creating a pool of solutions with a focus on solving emergency and humanitarian challenges. This pool of solutions could be invited for future programmes.

For more details, visit WFP website.