Lineage Food Chain Innovation Challenge 2024

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About Lineage Food Chain Innovation Challenge

Lineage is inviting forward-thinking students and startups from across the world to help address the complexities of the food supply chain, explore new perspectives, and propose innovative solutions that can reshape how we feed the world.

The teams who present the best ideas at each regional event will receive a cash prize. Additionally, one overall winner will be selected to participate in an incubator program organized by Lineage to further scale or develop the proposed solution.

The Challenge

Postharvest food waste poses a significant global challenge, affecting food security, quality, and market access. Particularly in developing and emerging regions, the absence of affordable and scalable solutions accelerates this issue, resulting in the loss of valuable food resources that could nourish millions.

During Lineage's Food Chain Innovation Challenge, participants will present their innovative technologies or data solutions that address postharvest food waste, considering its multifaceted impact on communities and economies.

Participants are encouraged to focus their solutions on one of the following themes:

• Reducing food waste: Technologies and strategies to minimize postharvest food waste across the supply chain, from farm to market, considering factors such as storage, transportation, and distribution.
• Innovative food preservation techniques: Novel methods or devices for preserving food freshness and quality, extending shelf life, and reducing spoilage, especially in resource-constrained environments.
• Access to nutritious food: Design solutions to improve access to nutritious food in underserved areas by addressing challenges such as food distribution logistics, affordability, and availability of fresh produce.
• Data-driven insights and analytics: Utilize data analytics, loT devices, and other technologies to gather insights into food supply chains, identify areas of waste, and optimize resource allocation for maximum efficiency.

• Sponsor Organisation: Lineage

Benefits of Lineage Food Chain Innovation Challenge

Lineage's Food Chain Innovation Challenge provides a unique opportunity for participating teams to:

• Connect: Network with industry professionals, mentors and fellow participants from around the world.
• Learn: Experts in the food and logistics fields will be on site to provide real-time feedback and guidance to teams to help them develop their proposals.
• Get Funded: The team with the winning entry selected by the judges in each region will receive a cash prize. Each of the regional winners will then enter a final round of global judging, competing for additional prize money and exclusive access to an executive-led incubator program organized by Lineage.
• Create Impact: Make a difference by addressing real-world issues and contributing to a sustainable future.

Lineage Food Chain Innovation Challenge Requirements

Team Formation and Registration

• Participant team Size: Teams may consist of 1 to 5 members.
• Changes to team members are not permitted after September 30, 2024. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis by the Food Chain Innovation Challenge committee.
• Teams should be made up exclusively of participants who are not organizers, volunteers, judges, sponsors, or in any other privileged position at the event.
• Judges are not eligible to participate in the Food Chain Innovation Challenge. They may, however, provide teams with advice and support ahead of the pitches on the day of the event.
• Participants/Teams must submit a detailed business plan, including market viability, product or service description, financial projections, and clearly state the impact their solution will have on minimizing post-harvest food waste.

• Applications must be received by September 30, 2024, and no late submissions will be accepted.

Project Presentation

• All project ideas are welcome, providing it is original, and falls into one of the following categories:
• Teams will be judged on the quality and execution of their pitch, rather than the novelty of the idea, providing it falls under one of the following categories:
  • Reducing food waste: Introduce technologies and strategies to diminish food loss from farm to market.
  • Innovative food preservation techniques: Propose novel methods that enhance food longevity and reduce spoilage.
  • Access to nutritious food: Improve the logistics of food distribution to enhance the availability of nutritious foods in underserved areas.
  • Data-driven insights and analytics: Employ analytics and IoT to optimize supply chains and reduce waste.
• Each team will be given 5 minutes to set up and prepare their presentation materials on the day of the event.

• Each team will have 5 minutes to pitch their idea to the panel, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session with the judges.

Intellectual Property

• Teams retain ownership of their ideas and intellectual property.

• Teams are responsible for protecting their intellectual rights before participating in the competition.

Judging Criteria

• Innovation: Originality and creativity of the idea.
• Viability: Practical implementation of the idea and potential for success.
• Impact: Potential market impact and benefit to the industry or society.
• Presentation: Clarity, persuasiveness, and professionalism of the presentation.

• Team capability: Ability of the team to execute the plan.

Code of Conduct and Disqualification

• Teams are expected to conduct themselves professionally during the event.
• Honesty and integrity in presentation and materials are required, and all presentations should be original.
• Respect for other participants, judges, and organizers is mandatory.
• Projects that violate the Code of Conduct will be disqualified.

• Teams can be disqualified from the competition at the organizers discretion. Reasons may include, but are not limited to, breaking the Competition Rules or breaking the Code of Conduct.

Miscellaneous

• The organizers reserve the right to make changes to the event and rules at any time.
• Decisions made by the judges are final and binding.

Application Date and Process

• Click on the link to the application website to apply.

Application Deadline

30 September, 2024

Scholarship Application Portal

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