Meet the 2024 Startup Innovation Awards winners

Young innovators took center stage at the 2024 World Food Forum (WFF) Startup Innovation Awards. The fourth annual global competition reached its conclusion with the live finals pitch session, hosted at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters on 16 October 2024, as part of the 2024 WFF flagship event.

Part of the activities of the WFF Youth Innovation Lab, the Startup Innovation Awards powered by Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) are a global startup competition established to support and showcase young innovators and entrepreneurs who are harnessing the power of technology to drive the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems in support of ending global hunger, accelerating climate actions and achieving the  Sustainable Development Goals.

The WFF Startup Innovation Awards 2024 were officially launched at the WFF Side Event during the UN Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Forum in New York on 8 May 2024, where the four award categories were announced: Digital Innovation in Food Processing, Empowering Women in Agrifood Systems, Food Loss, Good Food for All, for Today and Tomorrow.

In 2024, the WFF Youth Innovation Lab received 468 applications from 53 countries across the four categories. From these 35 semifinalists were shortlisted, with 74 percent coming from the Global South. After four days of virtual Semi-Finals Live Pitch sessions, eight startups (two per category) were selected as finalists from eight different countries, with five from the Global South.

The finalists in each category were:

• Digital Innovation in Food Processing Award category: PoultrySync (UAE), Safi (Canada);
• Empowering Women in Agrifood Systems Award category: AgrowSure Products and Innovations (India), Energy Assured (Nigeria);
• Food Loss Award category: Altered Carbon (UK),  Duhqa (Kenya) and
• Good Food for All, for Today and Tomorrow Award category: BettaF!sh (Germany), and SenzAgro Solutions (Sri Lanka).

With the generous support of our sponsors: ADM, Kilburn & Strode, Smart Sensors for Agri Food in collaboration with HIGHFIVE, Next Tech Food Factories, QING Forward Engineering and UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Innovation Lab, all finalists received travel allowances to attend the finals in Rome at the WFF flagship event, where they pitched to a renowned jury.  The judges included Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General (chair of the jury); David Laborde, Director of FAO Agrifood Economics and Policy Division; Garron Hansen, Senior Vice President of West and Central Africa and Haiti region of Chemonics International; and Gunther Beger, UNIDO Managing Director of the Directorate for SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation.

We are thrilled to present the winners of 2024 WFF Startup Innovation Awards:

• Digital Innovation in Food Processing Award: Safi (Canada)

Safi is a social enterprise creating the tools for a safe and transparent dairy supply chain in East Africa. They have patented the world's first off-the-grid pasteurization control unit that allows any user - primarily rural dairy farmers - to pasteurize their milk without the use of on-the-grid electricity.

• Empowering Women in Agrifood Systems Award: AgrowSure Products and Innovations (India)

AgrowSure Products and Innovations Pvt Ltd designs and manufactures affordable, innovative gender friendly farm machinery for small farmers. They promote sustainable agriculture, enhance soil health, improve crop resilience and empower rural communities, including women farmers, with eco-friendly solutions.

• Food Loss Award: Altered Carbon (UK)

Altered Carbon have developed a digital nose which can detect food spoilage and ensure quality from farm to table. Their graphene sensors are designed to detect gases associated with spoilage in real-time, transforming how we manage and protect our food supply chain.

• Good Food for All, for Today and Tomorrow Award:  BettaF!sh (Germany)

BettaF!sh is creating healthier oceans and a delicious, marine-based future through the power of seaweed. Their vision is to integrate seaweed into every product by replacing up to 30% of conventional ingredients with our clean-label, high-nutrient seaweed-based alternatives.

Altered Carbon (UK) was also chosen as the WFF Startup Innovation of the Year.

FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol commented while giving her closing remarks about the event, “This has been such an incredible journey for us at FAO, alongside XTC, with so many entrepreneurs, startups, partners and judges who have been with us over the last four years. Every year, the competition gets tighter, the presentations get better, and we continue to showcase the innovation, creativity, and dedication of these amazing entrepreneurs who are so committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 WFF Startup Innovation Awards for inspiring the WFF with your innovative solutions and commitment to transforming agrifood systems. Watch the full event recording and see the finalists’ inspiring presentations.