Call for Innovations // Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region - Water and Energy for Food (WE4F)
Are you a MENA-based innovator with a proven solution tackling water and/or energy issues in urban or rural food production? This Call for Innovations is designed to address barriers to enable the production of more food with efficient and sustainable usage of water and energy along the value chain from farming to end-user. Individual awards are expected to be between $25,000 USD and $300,000 USD depending on the type of funding requested.
Executive Summary
What is the MENA Regional Innovation Hub for WE4F? Water & Energy for Food (WE4F): A Grand Challenge for Development is a joint international initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Foreign Ministry of the Netherlands, Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is subject to many challenges including water scarcity, environmental degradation, unemployment, conflicts and increased migration. Tackling issues in the water-energy-food nexus is imperative to achieve political and social stability, gender equality and inclusion, food security, and sustainable development. Although the region’s water-energy-food challenges are severe, they present an opportunity for local innovators to find solutions for the most pressing water and energy issues in food production and agriculture.
The MENA Regional Innovation Hub (MENA RIH) supports innovators that work in the region and produce more food while using less water and energy, to impact food security, gender and poverty reduction in an environmentally sustainable way. Together with investors and partners, the MENA RIH works to scale mid-to-later stage enterprises that have an environmental and social impact in the water-energy-food nexus.
Why join WE4F?
Are you a MENA-based innovator with a proven solution tackling water and/or energy issues in urban or rural food production? The MENA RIH for WE4F is designed to support innovators in the region in growing their business by tackling the most common internal and external challenges. By tackling matters related to business growth, technical aspects, environmental and social impact, and access to finance together with our experts, innovators such as yourself will receive tailored and intense support to help you rapidly grow through
- developing your strategic growth plan
- redesigning your business model for growth and impact
- overcoming your cashflow problems
- strengthening your financial management foundations
- optimizing your production processes and organizational structure
- receiving more than 20 other growth support services such as export readiness, technical, and impact aspect
The MENA RIH will also help you in
- building your network in your country of operation and across the MENA region
- becoming investment ready to access needed debt and/or equity funding
- developing partnerships with financial institutions for end user finance
- raising the right type of capital needed through the best mix of debt and equity
- receiving milestone-based cash grants (for about 50% of firms joining the MENA RIH; up to $300k USD for outstanding innovators, which will be conditional on investments raised by the innovators and milestones met – this will be tied to the level of impact, performance, readiness)
Our Support Team
The support is delivered by leading MENA-based organizations who
have collectively helped over 300 firms raise over 250 Million USD, in the previous 5 year and achieving more than 400 Million USD of yearly revenues in 2019.
Application Process
Two-stage selection process
How the program works
After the applicant is successfully selected to join the hub, the following will be a rough timeline of how support and transformation takes place.
- Diagnostic/Bootcamp (1 month)
- Acceleration plan (growth plan) developed (1 month)
- TA/workshops/cash grants/access to investments (over the following 12 months) based on agreed upon terms and conditions
- Networking and access to finance continue as well as soft support till 2024
More Information
- DUE DATE: Concept Notes shall be received no sooner than November 03, 2020 and no later than December 15, 2020 at 5:00 PM CET.
- QUESTIONS: Prospective Applicants who have questions concerning the contents of this Call for Innovations shall submit them in writing no later than November 16, 2020 at 5:00 pm CET through email we4f@berytech.org.
- View the MENA RIH’s Call for Innovations document.
- Register for MENA RIH’s Q&A Webinar (available in English and Arabic)
- WE4F Website
This call was originally posted here.