12 July 2016
WFP Initiative to Use Technology to Fight Hunger
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The World Food Programme (WFP) has launched an initiative to foster innovation that combats hunger, improves food security and addresses malnutrition.

The 'Innovation Accelerator' aims to identify and support new technologies, business models and approaches for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 to "End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture."

World Food Programme11 July 2016: The World Food Programme (WFP) has launched an initiative to foster innovation that combats hunger, improves food security and addresses malnutrition. The ‘Innovation Accelerator’ aims to identify and support new technologies, business models and approaches for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.”

Based in Munich, Germany, the Accelerator, designed as a hub, will convene WFP staff, civil society and the private sector to exchange expertise and pool resources. The Accelerator’s main functions are: to identify internal and external ideas; develop strong, human-centered and lean startup projects; support innovations from prototype or early proof-of-concept to scale; explore longer-term technologies and business model innovations; and identify funds and networks to support project scale-up.

Projects already supported by the Accelerator include: training farmers to eliminate post-harvest losses; distributing a low-bandwidth information app to deliver information on prices, weather and farming practices to isolated communities; and using adaptive programming to improve harvests based on real-time data.

WFP also announced a partnership to support the Accelerator with Metro Cash and Carry, an international self-service wholesale corporation that is based on three pillars: customer donations; employee fundraising and sharing of expertise. [WFP Press Release] [UN Press Release] [Metro Cash and Carry Press Release] [WFP Innovation Accelerator webpage] [Fact Sheet]

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