Green Group Climate Adaptation Accelerator
Learn more about the Green Group Climate Adaptation Accelerator
Agri-Food Edition 2023
How might we design innovative and sustainable agri-food solutions that can help optimize water or energy usage while minimising environmental impact?
This was the challenge of the Accelerator's first Agri-Food Edition in 2023, co-created in partnership with Stratecis. Agriculture uses 65% of the world's fresh water, with around 45% of it being wasted. In addition to that, more than one-quarter of all global energy is spent on food production. The compounded effect of climate, water and food insecurity makes it primordial to bring to the table more sustainable agri-food solutions. In other words, the global community needs more food, produced with less water and energy, and with a lesser environmental impact.
The Accelerator's goal was to level up six innovative start-up solutions that addressed this unique agri-food challenge while promoting environmental sustainability and economic viability. The six selected startups received four months’ capacity-building support through group workshops, 1:1 mentoring sessions, deep-dive sessions on value architecture, business models, marketing and traction building, resource management and costing. The start-ups also worked on the investor readiness and the art of pitching.
The programme culminated in the final Demo Day at COP28 in Dubai on 10 December 2023, COP28's thematic day on water and food systems. Start-ups had the opportunity to pitch their innovative solutions in front of an expert jury composed of Dr. Khalil Ammar (Programme Leader, ICBA), Anas BaChar (Managing Director, Sprezzatura Advisors), Alexander Kappes (CEO, Greener Crop) and Sonia Weymuller (Co-Founder and General Partner, VentureSouq) as well as the global community of policymakers, business representatives and investors. The winning start-up Circa Biotech received an additional two months of support to access the market.