Selection

Applications are assessed by the Selection Committee including industry experts representing CGIAR and project partners. 

Evaluations are based on specific criteria: 

Legal entity requirement: Registration as a legal entity is not required at the time of application. Applicants may be in the process of registering, and support will be provided as needed. Applications are accepted from registered entities as well as individuals or teams affiliated with a national or international research center or university in Ghana. Partnerships with international startups with a presence or willingness to establish operations in Ghana are encouraged.  

Relevance to Ghana: Solutions must address key challenges in Ghana’s agriculture sector and fall under at least one of the project’s priority areas. 

Technology and business readiness: Solutions must be at the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage, preferably with end-user testing completed. They should also be actively fundraising, ideally at the pre-seed or seed stage. 

Scientific validation: Solutions must be scientifically sound, innovative, and offer improvements over existing technologies.  

Value Proposition: Solutions must offer new or improvements over existing concepts, approaches, or technologies.    

Sustainability and scalability: Business models should demonstrate market viability, growth potential, and competitive differentiation. It should be supported by documented evidence of market size, scalability, replicability, and transferability, and the ability to prevent competitors from replicating or infringing innovation. 

Environmental and social impact: Innovations must show measurable positive impacts while mitigating environmental and social risks.  

Team composition: Teams should be composed of two people, and have diverse, complementary skill sets and expertise in technical, scientific, or industry-specific fields, demonstrating inclusivity, dedication, and commitment to the innovation challenge. Teams will be assessed on a multi-tiered selection basis, each tier with a tailored set of criteria, including value proposition, sustainability, scalability, scientific relevance, and maturity, supported throughout by partners’ expertise and networks. 

Please note : Selection criteria may evolve across different phases of the project, with additional requirements depending on the stage of evaluation.