World Bank Africa-Korea Agtech Innovation Challenge and Summit 2022

The World Bank, with support from the Korea World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF) and the Korean Green Growth Trust Fund (KGGTF), and in partnership with Plug and Play Tech Center, is launching the Africa-Korea Agtech Innovation Challenge to identify disruptive agricultural technologies (DATs) interested to work in Kenya and Uganda. The World Bank seeks to create bridges between innovators and explore the potential to incorporate DATs into its work.

Fifteen finalists will be selected from the online application process, which closes on 30th November 2022. The finalists will pitch their solutions at the Africa-Korea Agtech Innovation Summit in Nairobi, Kenya in February 2023. The 3-day Summit will showcase the finalists to key government officials from Kenya, Uganda and South Korea, World Bank stakeholders, prominent accelerators and venture capital firms (VCs). Alongside networking opportunities, the Challenge will also feature learning opportunities and field trips to some of Kenya’s agri-innovation sites. The winning solutions will also potentially have an opportunity to join the One Million Farmers Platform in Kenya.

About World Bank

With 189 member countries, staff from more than 170 countries, and offices in over 130 locations, the World Bank Group is a unique global partnership: five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries. Together, IBRD and IDA form the World Bank, which provides financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to governments of developing countries. IDA focuses on the world�s poorest countries, while IBRD assists middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries. While our five institutions have their own country m...... read more

Africa-Korea Agtech Innovation Challenge and Summit

Aim and Benefits of Africa-Korea Agtech Innovation Challenge and Summit

• The top 15 submissions (the “Finalists”) will be sponsored to travel to the “Africa-Korea Agtech Innovation Summit” in in Nairobi, Kenya, in February 2023, with all travel and accommodation expenses covered.

• The winning solution will potentially be offered an opportunity to join the One Million Farmers Platform in Kenya.

• Finalists have networking opportunities with key global ecosystem players including Kenyan government and World Bank stakeholders and prominent accelerators and venture capital firms (VCs)

• Learning opportunities and field trips to some of Kenya’s agri-innovation sites

• Media exposure and features in World Bank publications and channels

Requirements for Africa-Korea Agtech Innovation Challenge and Summit Qualification

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Be legally incorporated in respective country(s) of operation before 30th November 2020 (operating for >2 years)

• Particular interest to work in either Kenya, Uganda or South Korea 

• Must have a publicly available product, with real users or customers and generating revenue

• Product must address one of the three challenge themes: agricultural productivity, improving market access or financial inclusion of farmers in an innovative way

Interview date, Process and Venue for Africa-Korea Agtech Innovation Challenge and Summit

The submitted applications will be scored according to the following criteria:

• Potential for impact: solutions that address or ameliorate the challenge theme in a significant and meaningful way

• Potential for scale: solutions that can scale to impact a large number of farmers, or significantly improve the conditions of the agricultural landscape

• Business model: applicants have demonstrated or provided a roadmap for developing a viable and sustainable business model for generating revenues and growing

• Inclusion: solutions that are easy to adopt and affordable in a Sub-Saharan African context, including accessible to smallholder farmers 

• Partnership potential: Is there potential for meaningful partnerships with other organizations and DATs to amplify reach and impact? 

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details, visit World Bank website.