The purpose of this challenge is to find solutions that can be rapidly deployed after the onset of a crisis and be a sustainable source of nutritious food as quickly as possible. Something that can be distributed or deployed quickly, for a modest cost.
You have likely witnessed a scene like this far too many times on the news, from the safety of your home: hundreds, thousands, or even millions of families caught in the grip of conflict or disaster. Chased, burned, or washed out of their homes. Stripped of their belongings, cut off from their fields. Little to eat. Children denied food when they need it most. A life of stunting and underachievement—for those who get to live.
The purpose of this challenge is to find solutions that can be rapidly deployed after the onset of a crisis and be a sustainable source of nutritious food as quickly as possible. Something that can be distributed or deployed quickly, for a modest cost.
The challenge
You have likely witnessed a scene like this far too many times on the news, from the safety of your home: hundreds, thousands, or even millions of families caught in the grip of conflict or disaster. Chased, burned, or washed out of their homes. Stripped of their belongings, cut off from their fields. Little to eat. Children denied food when they need it most. A life of stunting and underachievement—for those who get to live.
Fortunately, the World Food Programme (WFP) is there, in every emergency, providing basic food supplies or cash. But no one organization can do it all or ensure that no one gets left behind. People need to be able to support themselves, sustainably. And to stop people in emergency situations from going hungry, we need bold new thinking.
Therefore, we are proud to be working with WFP to host a special Global Impact Challenge aimed at eliminating world hunger by 2030. This partnership offers applicants a unique combination of Silicon Valley exponential thinking and global expertise in food assistance and humanitarian response. It's time to harness the combined power of exponential technology and innovative thinking to end hunger once and for all!
We need you—your ideas, your vision, your bright bold brainwaves. Do you think you have a solution? A clever concept that allows people living in the most difficult conditions to produce nutritious food? A technology you’ve dreamt up that will quickly restore livelihoods and dignity in the midst of despair?
We're challenging you to design a low-cost, scalable solution that enables severely marginalized people to support their (five-member, on average) household food and nutrition needs in a sustainable manner that lowers their dependence on aid.
The prize
Shortlisted winners will be invited to a bootcamp at the WFP Innovation Accelerator in Munich, Germany, where they'll work on developing their ideas using lean startup and human-centered design methods, combined with WFP field expertise. The bootcamp will be hosted April 18-21, 2017.
Following the bootcamp, one team (with a maximum of two members) will move on and secure a full sponsorship to attend Singularity University's prestigious Global Solutions Program (GSP) hosted from June 17 to August 17, 2017, on the SU campus at NASA Research Park. To learn more about GSP visit this page.
Solutions should seek to fulfill the following criteria as much as possible:
- The more portable, the better
- The faster the solution produces food, the better
- The smaller the solution, the better
- The cheaper, the better—for comparison: humanitarian assistance organizations usually spend around $75 per family/per month to provide a family of four with basic food
- The less dependent on external resources such as materials, water, and electricity, the better
- The more nutritious the food the solution produces, the better
Applicant criteria
- The challenge is open to anyone, anywhere in the world
- You must be age 21 or older on the first day of the GSP
- You should be able to conduct yourself professionally in written and spoken English
- You should be able to participate in the 4-day bootcamp in Munich from April 18-21, 2017
- You should be able to participate in the entire GSP17 program from June 17 - August 17, 2017
Entry criteria
- CV or resume
- Summary of accomplishments
- An abstract of the project idea
- A video URL of the project idea
- Pitch deck
Important dates
- Applications open: January 18, 2017
- Applications close: March 13, 2017
- Finalists announced: April 21, 2017
- Bootcamp: April 18-21, 2017
- Winners announced: Early May, 2017
See HERE to submit your solutions.
Picture and video credits: Singularity University Global Impact Challenge