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 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 WFP’s legacy of innovation, the WFP Innovation Accelerator was launched in 2015 to pilot new solutions and scale promising innovations to disrupt hunger. We supported 52 innovation projects at various levels of maturity (i.e., sprint, scale-up) and positively impacted the lives of 9 million people across 67 countries in 2021. We received over 1,350 applications from 125 countries around the world, showing the reach and value our innovation programmes offer.
The WFP Innovation Accelerator was named in Fast Company’s lists of 2021's Most Innovative Companies (Non-Profit), 2021's Best Workplaces for Innovators, and 2020’s Innovation Team of the Year. Globally, WFP was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict." Find out more at www.wfp.org/enablers
We help innovators sprint from idea to impact
Our Sprint Programme is an intense six-month acceleration programme that helps innovators and start-ups reach proof-of-concept and develop prototypes ready for implementation. Apply for access to US $100,000 in funding, world-class mentors, results-driven programming, and WFP’s vast field operations.
We enable the scale-up of high-impact innovations
Our Scale-Up Enablement Programme enables the rapid scale up of high-impact innovations by providing tailored strategic planning, fundraising, communications, knowledge management and mentorship support. We scale up innovations that have the potential to significantly disrupt hunger by improving the livelihoods of millions of people, increasing efficiency and effectiveness across multiple countries.
We explore game-changing frontier innovations
New technologies are rapidly developing and deeply transforming our lives and the world, including in the area of humanitarian aid. Our Frontier Innovations Programme explores game-changing innovations and new technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, edge computing and robotics to help humanitarians deliver on their mandate more effectively.
We provide a platform for innovation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
WFP is committed to strengthening global partnerships that deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. Our Innovation Services Programme creates custom acceleration programmes, innovation journeys and ecosystem building activities with other United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, foundations and private sector organisations. Our goal is to drive systemic change through working together.
Do you have a bold idea to disrupt hunger? Apply to the WFP Innovation Accelerator for the possibility to receive up to US $100,000 in equity-free funding, mentorship from industry experts, and access to the world’s largest humanitarian organization.
