Announcing the Startup Innovation Awards Semi-Finalists!

The third annual World Food Forum Startup Innovation Awards Powered by XTC are here once again.
In partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, we have dedicated a startup innovation challenge inspired by the affirmation that “agrifood systems transformation accelerates climate action” in Agtech & Foodtech.

🎖️ World Food Forum Semi-Finalists for innovation categories

Using the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) as a guiding principle, we are championing startup tech entrepreneurs who are supporting an end to global hunger with their innovations. We are thrilled to announce our Semi-Finalists in four categories: Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment, and Better Life:

 

🚜 BETTER PRODUCTION:

Autonomous Pivot (Israel) transforming center pivot irrigation systems into intelligent, AI-driven platforms to improve farming returns.
Circular Powder (Japan) producing bioactive-rich and alcohol-free powders by upcycling wine, and wine residues.
Evet – AI powered diagnostic app helping farmers and veterinarians book medical tests for animals with fast results.
FytoBio (Nigeria) technology supplying food-grade recombinant proteins so customers can grow cells affordably for cultivated meat, seafood, leather and cosmetics.
GK AQUA (Malaysia) freshwater prawn breeding technology.
Munakyalo Agrofresh (Uganda) reducing post-harvest losses & food wastage among smallholder farmers and vendors through solar-powered cold storage and transportation units.
Poultry Farmers Management System (PFMS) (Cameroon) providing farmers with affordable and instant diagnostics for poultry healthcare.
RAINCATCHER (Kyrgyzstan) hydro-retaining fertilizer: eco-friendly & limiting evapotranspiration and thus the need of irrigation water for plants.
SPRK.global (Germany) aiming to redistribute oversupply & eliminate food waste along the global chain by developing an innovative distribution platform using AI.
Zebra CropBank (Nigeria) building Africa’s post harvest services platform for farmers to store, manage and monetize their produce.

 

🥬 BETTER NUTRITION:

AgriTech Analytics (Kenya) supporting small-scale farmers in monitoring their crops using our online platform and mobile app.
BetterMeal AI (USA) technology helping people identify foods that work for their gut & heal issues.
Biblical Protein (Israel) climate resilient agritech technology, with the unique approach of branding the novel protein source based on the Bible and New Testament.
De Novo Foodlabs (UK) creating the next generation of nutritional solutions to elevate human health.
Koolboks (France) harnessing the natural power of the sun and water, creating a product able to generate continuous cooling in the absence of power or sunlight.
SENTUM (USA) clinically based food supplement to combat sugar cravings.
Sophie’s BioNutrients (Netherlands) developing a new sustainable plant-based protein out of microalgae.
Sustainable Planet (UK) a green initiative focused on growing water lentils scaled at industrial level, an opportunity for the African and middle eastern regions to secure food.

 

🌍 BETTER ENVIRONMENT:

AREYLight AI (Poland) redefining energytech & conserving electricity usage by ensuring that lighting units can be controlled remotely through the use of artificial intelligence.
CutOff Recycle (Tanzania) recycling waste human hair to manufacture NPK+ semi-organic liquid fertilizer and organic manure.
CyFract (Germany) a novel cyclone technology to revolutionize water filtration in industrial applications and solve pressing environmental and health problems.
ELZIAN AGRO (Sri Lanka) precision agriculture solutions with integrated monitoring and tailored automation systems.
Miravel (USA) designing, manufacturing & distributing beautiful indoor wall gardens that automatically grow fresh food in your home or apartment.
NewWave Biotechnology (Australia) working in partnership with fungi to restore soil health, store carbon, save water and increase yields even as climate conditions worsen.
OpenESG (UK) creating a free, fast, dynamic and open ESG scoring system where small businesses and large corporations can show their Sustainability performance in a free and fast process.
Organicin Scientific (USA) minimizing the reliance on chemical antibiotics in farming & leverage bacteriocins; naturally occurring antimicrobial proteins as a sustainable alternative.
Pastoral (UK) providing innovative IoT and remote sensing solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of traditional livestock farming practices.
WeavAir (Poland) business intelligence solution composed of predictive software and multi-sensor IoT devices that measure 20 different metrics.

 

💚 BETTER LIFE:

Aloi (Nepal) bridging the gap between informal sector green entrepreneurs and climate financing using digital token technology.
Beikart (Kenya) on-demand B2B e-commerce chicken logistics offering a seamless platform for institutions to source and purchase chicken from trusted suppliers.
CropScan (Kenya) a recently patented solar-powered plant diagnostic device able to detect exactly which nutrients are missing in the crops and accurately measure the macronutrients needed.
E-Livestock Global (USA) providing an integrated blockchain-powered hardware and software, IoT type solution promoting healthy livestock.
Maziko (Milimonline) (Malawi) an agri-food e-commerce platform connecting African farmers, businesses and traders to buyers from across the globe.
Stellapps Technologies (India) dairy-led deep tech solutions helping significantly improve productivity, quality, and traceability in the dairy value chain.

 

 

Evaluation Committee:

🙏 A special thank you to our expert evaluators for lending their valuable time and insights to the challenge, and selecting our Semi-Finalists for this competition:

 

🚜 BETTER PRODUCTION

Nina Coates – Programme & Project Management (Fisheries Global & Regional Processes), FAO

Wayne Dredge – Special Advisor, Emerging Ag Inc.

Thea Gherdan – Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), The C-fit Group

Nemanja Grgic – Technical Coorperation Manager, Agribusiness, EBRD

Anna Tao – Executive Manager, Company Creation, CSIRO

Nekesah Wafullah – Agri & Climate Tech Venture Builder Expert, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

 

🥬 BETTER NUTRITION:

Liat Ben-Zur – Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR), Storm Ventures

Andrew Escaler – Executive Vice President, Pasudeco

Janice Mori – Advisor, Silicon Cataylst

John Martin – SME – Startup & Ecosystem, XTC

 

🌍 BETTER ENVIRONMENT:

Joséphine Kant – Series A Program Manager, Y Combinator

Marco Morbidini – Partner, Kilburn & Strode

April Ong Vaño – Head, Environmental, Social & Governance, Quest Ventures

Franck Saint-Martin – Environmental Impact Manager, Nestlé

Yang En Tan – Investor, Insignia Ventures Partners

Helena Wasserman – Co-Founder, Investors for Climate

 

💚 BETTER LIFE:

Liat Ben-Zur – Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR), Storm Ventures

John Martin – SME – Startup & Ecosystem, XTC

José Navarro – Consultant, Asian Development Bank Institute

 

 

What’s Next?

🇮🇹 Keep up! We’re going to Italy for the Finals Event …

August 21, 2023 – Public Announcement of Finalists

October 18, 2023 – Live Finals Event & Announcement of Winners at the at the 2023 World Food Forum flagship event at the UN Headquarters in Rome, Italy.