Deadline: May 4, 2018

Are you 18-35 years old and have a great idea to change the world of food and agriculture? Join the 2018 Thought For Food Challenge and develop breakthrough solutions that address the global challenge of feeding 9+ billion people by the year 2050. Be part of the next generation of innovators in food and agriculture.

Thought for Food invites the world’s brightest, most passionate next generation innovators from around the world to take the lead in solving one of the biggest challenges facing our future: how are we going to feed 9+ billion people by 2050? The 2018 TFF Challenge promises to be a bigger, better and even more mind-blowing experience than ever before!

By participating in the TFF Challenge, you are joining a movement of young innovators from 130 different countries who are reshaping our global food system. They believe that openness, collaboration, and an entrepreneurial mindset are key to feeding our growing world.

Benefits

Participants in the TFF Challenge will take part in proven training programs and will work with world-class mentors who will help turn your idea into a reality.

Participants will have the chance to receive up to $25,000 in cash prizes, and you may be selected to participate in the TFF Startup Bootcamp, an intense, 12-week startup training program which culminates with an all-expenses paid trip to the TFF Global Summit. The Summit is a phenomenal, life-changing experience! In addition to the Finalist pitches, you’ll participate in workshops, hear from some world-renowned speakers, and meet other young innovators from all over the globe.

Prizes:

• Finalists – 10 Finalist teams will be chosen at the end of Round 1 to move on to Round 2. These 10 teams will receive 12 weeks of Pre-Accelerator business training, and travel accommodation to to attend the 2018 TFF Global Summit, valued at $20,000
• Winners – At the TFF Summit, one Grand Prize winning team will be chosen to receive $10,000 USD, and one Runner Up team will be chosen to receive $5,000 USD. The team most qualified for an investment will be awarded the Kirchner Food Fellows Prize worth $5,000 USD, and the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture will award $2,500 to the team that has a strong impact directly on farmers.

Eligibility

• The only requirement is that you are between the ages of 18-35 during the time of your Pitch submission!
• You need to register as a team with 3-5 people.

Judging Criteria

Projects will initially be evaluated on how well they demonstrate significant potential to leave a lasting impact on either a current or future challenge in the way the world produces, distributes and/or consumes food. This might include food waste, hunger, obesity and malnutrition, post-harvest loss, environmental impact, etc.

In addition, projects will be judged according to the following 4 criteria:

• INNOVATION: TFF commits to being at the cusp of new idea generation. You and your teammates will look to consolidate cutting-edge technologies and the latest resources to create a project that is fresh and exciting, in a way that has never been seen before.
• IMPLEMENTATION: Food security solutions require short, medium, and long-term goals that shouldn’t end when the competition is over. Your project should be implementable, with serious scalability potential on a global level.
• UNIQUENESS: You will be competing against some of the brightest minds. Your project should stand out among the wide array of proposals, providing game-changing solutions. It should embody a “wow” factor so that it gets noticed in a noisy world of innovation and startups.
• TEAM SPIRIT: Being an innovator is one of the most exciting and rewarding things one can do. However, it is also a long and demanding one. Your team needs to demonstrate that it is able to withstand these challenges and truly deliver a solution that will improve lives.

Application

Sign up and create your team of 3-5 youth innovators. Work through the Design Thinking Lab to develop your idea, and make sure you submit your Pitch to Thought For Food by May 4, 2018.

Submit your entries online.

For more information, visit Thought For Food Challenge.