UNIDO International Award 2017

Deadline: April 10, 2017

Applications are ongoing for the UNIDO International Award. The aim of the award consists in identifying the best technologies and innovative ideas from startups, enterprises, universities and research centers and technology transfer that could lead to social and economic improvements if implemented in Developing Countries (DCs); therefore, starting from the crucial role played by agriculture in developing economies and the impact of innovation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Through this contest UNIDO ITPO Italy aims to create a virtuous circle of connections between the private, academic, financial and institutional sectors that will help to provide concrete answers to food security and safety issues, triggering a primary factor for growth and development.

Specifically, priority will be given to the following themes:

• Technologies for the improvement of the harvest, processing, conservation and packaging of food products, with a special focus on the use of advanced and innovative materials;
• Technologies and innovative ideas for the valorization of agricultural products of agricultural communities and aimed at fighting food waste and losses;
• Innovative solutions for the logistics management and access to international markets of agricultural products of DCs;
• Technologies and innovative solutions for the improvement of life conditions of workers in the agricultural and similar sectors in DCs;
• Technologies and instruments for the development and qualification of a local market for food and agricultural goods and products;
• Innovative solutions linked to the environmental technologies for agribusiness waste treatment & management, and production of energy and water from alternative sources for agricultural, human and zoo technical use.

Awards

5 winners will be selected: one for the category “Women”, one for the “Young – Under 35” and 3 for the overall category.

The winners will also be offered the following services:

• Opportunity to participate as a keynote speaker and guest of honor in the Special Conference – Inspire Power “Food Security for Developing Countries” in Seeds & Chips;
• Submission of the winner project proposals to MATERIAS, An Early Stage Accelerator for Combined Innovative Startup, in order to evaluate the eligibility for its acceleration program (the assessment will be carried out by the scientific/industrial board and internal investors);
• Realization of an ad hoc web page on the winner innovative idea and / or technology within the UNIDO ITPO Italy’s institutional website (unido.it) and assistance in defining a project’s promotional strategy;
• UNIDO ITPO Italy’s honest brokering services to access, through ad hoc promotional activities, to the worldwide UNIDO and ITPOs network with the aim to guarantee the maximum visibility to the winner proposal and foster the conclusion of international technical and financial partnerships.

Eligibility

• The proposal submitted by participants to the tender must be from applicants belonging to the following categories:
  • Micro, small, medium, and large enterprises;
  • Startups operating in sectors linked to the contest;
  • Research centers, incubators, Technology Transfer offices, university spin-offs, and academia;
  • Public-Private Partnerships;
  • Associations, business consortia and networks, NGOs, as well as public and private foundations linked to the business world and international cooperation
• The joint participation of candidates belonging to different admissible categories, with the adequate indication of the leading applicants, will represent an added value to the project. Belonging to a team will have to be a well-motivated decision
• The organizers encourage the participation of proposal at any level of development, from early stage ideas to scaling up projects, but also innovative technologies under testing and evidence collection
• Participation to the initiative is free of charge

Application Process

• Complete the registration form for the international awards;
• Each participant can submit a maximum of 3 applications. A larger submission of proposals will be excluded. Only the first 3 will be accepted  in the order in which they arrive.

For more information, visit UNIDO International Award.