WFP Digital Health Innovation Accelerator Program 2021 for startups and Innovators (USD $250,000 in equity-free funding)

Application Deadline: : 21 November 2021 11:59 pm (CET) 

WFP is launching the Digital Health Innovation Accelerator Program, powered by WFP Innovation Accelerator, and the digilab, jointly led by BMZ – Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, KfW – Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the GIZ. WFP are in search of scalable digital solutions using open standards and approaches towards the creation of global goods, with a focus on building and supporting pandemic preparedness capabilities in low- and middle-income countries. As the COVID-19 vaccination campaign continues globally, we aim to leverage these digital solutions to accelerate the vaccination campaign, thereby maximizing its impact and the recovery of communities and health systems in low- and middle-income countries. 

The programme will select mature start-ups and solution providers who will receive financial, technical and methodological support from the WFP Innovation Accelerator, and other partners. Together with the brightest and best minds globally, WFP will be able to support the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.  

Eligibility Criteria

• Your organization must be an established legal entity (for-profit, non for profit, social enterprise). 
• The proposed solution should follow open standards, open-source or open data approaches towards creating global goods (e.g. OSI approved licenses, Creative Commons licenses).
• The developed or implemented solution should use data and information exchange mechanisms based on global standards (e.g. openHIE). 
• The applicant organization must have a presence in the country of implementation (country office or other permanent presence, subsidiary, long-term operations, or partnerships in the country, specifically with the relevant Public Health government agencies).
• Your innovation addresses one or more of the priority topics related to building pandemic preparedness in low- and middle-income countries. Your innovation should have a demonstrated proof-of-concept with initial traction and a clear path to scale.

In accordance with the pointers on the left, your application will be evaluated according to the following criteria*: 

• Impact & Scalability: Applicants should have a defined vision, an identified target group, and be able to demonstrate the potential to solve the posed challenge(s).  
• Team: Applicants should be able to demonstrate they have a diverse, non-discriminatory, gender-balanced organization with demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurial mindset. 

• Novelty: Applicants should be able to show how their solution and business model are innovative while being technically suitable, and viable.  
• Traction: Applicants should be able to present evidence of feasibility and adoption by the target group.  
• Business Model: Applicants should demonstrate the viability of their business model, how they intend to achieve a sustainable business, pricing, and financial model. 

*WFP reserve the right to adjust eligibility criteria based on the changing context as new information becomes available.  

Selection Criteria

Applicants should be able to demonstrate the following: 

• Interoperability with other systems and capacity to integrate with existing national health management information systems. 
• Buy-in from national, regional, or local governments. 
• Positive adoption of the relevant target user groups: government officials, health workers or citizens, where applicable. 
• Inclusion of, or focus on, supporting or increasing access for women in the area of impact.  
• Inclusion of, or focus on, marginalized or underserved communities and mobile populations. 
• Inclusion of, or focus on, people with disabilities and/or high-risk groups vulnerable to COVID-19. 
• Capacity to be adapted, expanded, replicated, or scaled. 

Benefits

The WFP Innovation Accelerator has a track record of organizing over 38 flagship innovation bootcamps, supporting over 369 teams to rapidly refine their innovations, field testing over 100 projects, and bringing disruptive innovations to scale, reaching more than 3.7 million people in 2020 alone.

Funding

• Projects will also be considered for the WFP Sprint Program, a six-month acceleration programme with access to up to US $250,000 in equity-free funding, mentorship, and access to a global network of relevant partners in the public health space  

Scaling

• Mature innovations that have proven their concepts and value for social impact may qualify for further funding and support

Hands-On Support

• Selected teams will be invited to participate in a fully virtual WFP Innovation Bootcamp in January 2022

2021 Programme Dates

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the WFP Digital Health Innovation Accelerator Program 2021