Terms & Conditions

AgriTech4Morocco Innovation Challenge: An Open Call for Disruptive Agri-Tech Solutions to Support Morocco’s Generation Green 2020-2030 Strategy

The AgriTech4Morocco Innovation Challenge will identify and boost new agri-tech products, services, and technologies that aim to overcome the challenges encountered at various stages of the agri-food value chains, enhance efficiency, equity, and environmental sustainability of the sector, and contribute towards the Generation Green 2020-2030 Strategy.

 

 

Our Goals

In an open innovation approach, the AgriTech4Morocco Innovation Challenge aims to:

Connect

Scout and boost transformative agri-tech solutions to strengthen Moroccan agriculture and food sectors

Support

Pair agri-tech entrepreneurs with business mentors and scientific experts to support their scale up journey through mentorship and one-to-one coaching

Deploy

Connect startups with private and public partners to foster long-term collaborations

Priority Areas

Applicants must address at least one of the priority areas:

Climate risk adaptation

Solutions seeking to build resilience through water and energy use optimization in irrigated agriculture by providing new sustainable sources of water or energy, supporting the choices of crop varieties, and helping enforce regulations on water and energy usage.

Value chains efficiency

Solutions aimed at accelerating the development of a transformation industry around key value chains by informing farmers of market opportunities, supporting the choice of transformation processes and equipment, optimizing investments, and facilitating access to markets.

Capacity building

Solutions designed to strengthen human resources in agriculture by improving the availability and quality of human resources through training and upskilling labor, reducing labor harshness, improving access to equipment and technology, and connecting staff with labor opportunities.

Financial services

Solutions developed to boost financial services through new agri-food players’ access to adequate financial services and climate-linked and crop protection schemes by improving the predictability of farm production and cashflows, optimizing the financial performance of farms, and enhancing the monitoring and management of pests and diseases.

Market traceability and transparency

Solutions created to improve market traceability and transparency to strengthen competitiveness. Innovations improve production quality and traceability, optimize logistics, and introduce product and packaging innovations.

Solutions

The AgriTech4Morocco Innovation Challenge is looking for disruptive solutions that include but are not limited to:

Robotics
robots and drones as support for human labor on key operations.
Agriculture biotech
Crop-tech for improved fit with climate conditions and disease risks
Novel food
production of novel ingredients based on local assets, plant or insect-based proteins, algae-based ingredients.
Logistics services and market access
traceability tech, logistics and transport optimization platforms, processing tech with a focus on cost design, development of new ideas (products, packaging, services), farm to fork retail platforms.
Digital technologies and data-drive solutions, sensing, and IoT
ag data capturing devices, decision support software, big data analytics, farm robotics, cloud retail infrastructure.
Financial services
climate-linked insurance schemes, predictability solutions.
Educational tech
innovative training / upskilling formats, on-the-ground support solutions, user friendly equipment and interfaces.
Social and environmental innovation
new models for aggregation, reuse of resources, recycling, and waste reduction solutions at all levels (farms, storage, processing, domestic consumption).

Who Can Apply?

The AgriTech4Morocco Innovation Challenge is open to candidates residing in and outside Morocco (including Moroccans and non-Moroccans) who developed innovations that can be applied to the Moroccan agri-food tech context.

Applicants can be individuals or teams of innovators (e.g., PhD and postdoctoral students, engineers, technicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, practitioners etc.), with demonstrated willingness to adopt an entrepreneurial approach to commercialize and scale their innovations in Morocco. The founding team should ideally include at least two people, of which one is working full-time for the start-up.

The call is open to innovations of different maturity levels. Early-stage innovations only will be considered for the bootcamp and Acceleration Program. Growth and late-stage innovations will be fast-tracked and invited to participate in activities during the final Demo Day that are tailored to their needs.

How to Apply?

Candidates must submit their applications online through the dedicated portal.

They will be required to register, build out their profile, and fill in the application form before Sunday 1 May 2022 at 23:59 CET/21:59 GMT

 

What Are the Eligibility Criteria?

  • Solutions must be designed for or applicable to Morocco’s agri-tech sector, should aim to enhance efficiency, equity, and environmental sustainability, and align with the Generation Green 2020-2030 Strategy.

  • Solutions must address at least one of the five priority areas of the AgriTech4Morocco Innovation Challenge.

  • Applicants must have a minimum-viable-product (MVP) or proof of concept (POC) of their product or service (technology, methodology, practice) in the agri-tech space.

  • Applicants can only submit original work for which they are the sole inventors and copyright holders. In the case of a group of co-founders, the names and ages of all authors must be reported in the application form and will be considered as a single application.

  • Incomplete application forms that do not comply with the terms and conditions specified in the call, or are submitted after the deadline, will not be considered.

Awards and Benefits

The top 10 innovations teams will be granted free access to a three-day bootcamp as well as a nine-week Acceleration Program that combines an intensive curriculum with access to a multitude of resources including:

Tailored support from agritech business mentors
Tailored support from agritech business mentors

Building a solid business model and pitch thanks to masterclasses, mentorship, and one-to-one coaching delivered by specialized experts.

Connections with CGIAR scientists
Connections with CGIAR scientists

Strengthening the technical and scientific validity of solutions with in-kind support from a global community of scientists.

Access to new business opportunities
Access to new business opportunities

Finding new partnerships with the public and private sector to accelerate your Go-to-market.

Visibility at global scale to a network of investors and industry experts
Visibility at global scale to a network of investors and industry experts

Showcasing your project to a broad global audience of potential investors, partners, and media through AgriTech4Morocco’s communications channels.

Guided post-acceleration support
Guided post-acceleration support

Joining our innovations communities to expand your network and get privileged access to business opportunities, perks, and international events.

Sustainable Development Goals

AgriTech4Morocco tackles 14 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals: