PREP Innovation Challenge (Philippines)

Deadline: 31-Jul-2024

The World Food Programme (WFP) Philippines country office and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with the WFP Innovation Accelerator are launching the first-ever call for applications leading up to the 2024 Preparedness and Response Excellence in the Philippines (PREP) Forum.

The PREP Innovation Challenge aims to identify and scale low- and high-tech cost-effective solutions for the food-insecure population in disaster-prone areas of the Philippines.

They invite innovators, entrepreneurs and organizations from the Philippines to contribute impactful and fit-for-purpose solutions to enhance the Philippines’ emergency preparedness and response. WFP Philippines will provide comprehensive support to selected teams, facilitating the development and scaling of the most promising solutions. The focus is on nurturing innovations that are not only novel to the context of the Philippines but also sustainable, scalable and capable of bringing long-term change within challenging environments.

What they offer?

• The selected innovation teams:
  • will have the opportunity to showcase their innovation during the 2024 PREP Forum event taking place in Manila, Philippines, from 18-19 September;
  • will receive visibility from their participation at the 2024 PREP Forum event which partners, including government agencies and donors such as USAID, will attend;
  • will be eligible to receive up to US$45,000 (or PHP 2.6 million) in funding from WFP;
  • will receive one year of mentorship and operational support from WFP Philippines; and
  • may qualify for further support and fundraising opportunities.

What they are looking for?                   

• For this innovation challenge, they are looking for both low- and high-tech solutions specifically tailored to strengthen food security in disaster-prone areas. They aim to identify and support homegrown innovations based in the Philippines that can effectively address these challenges and are operational or able to be implemented in at least one of the eight target provinces in the country within one year. WFP Philippines’ current innovation priorities are mentioned below:
  • Enhance emergency preparedness to build resilience: Before the onset of an emergency, pre-emptive measures taken by communities and authorities are critical to lower the number of casualties, protect livelihoods and help the affected populations recover faster when an emergency occurs. Cost-effective and scalable initiatives, such as nature-based solutions, help address the growing challenges of climate change, including biodiversity loss and increased frequency of extreme weather and natural hazards. Thus, the PREP Innovation Challenge is looking for:
    • AI-assisted early warning systems (EWS) that deliver real-time information to local communities and decision-makers before the onset of a disaster;
    • tools enabling predictive analysis and hazard risk mapping that aid the formulation of preparedness actions;
    • nature-based solutions to reduce disaster risk;
    • green infrastructure that limits people’s exposure to hazards (e.g., natural storm barriers that offer protection, solutions that mitigate flooding, solutions that decrease the risk of landslides following earthquakes or extended rainy seasons).
  • Increase efficiency and effectiveness in humanitarian response: In the Philippines, frequent hazards such as typhoons and earthquakes intersect with the challenging operational reality spanning 7,000 islands. As a result, the humanitarian supply chain in the country is dynamic and complex. Delivering timely and effective support is critical, particularly in the most disaster-prone, underdeveloped and hard-to-reach areas. Thus, the PREP Innovation Challenge is looking for:
    • solutions that improve access to humanitarian assistance for disaster-affected populations;
    • solutions that estimate the immediate needs of the most at-risk communities as priority targets of relief or enable crowd logistics of relief items;
    • solutions to track inventories of relief goods that facilitate decision-making to augment, replenish or conclude assistance;
    • cutting-edge tools for authorities to acquire and collate damage information, report assessments and immediate needs within a few hours following a disaster.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications will be scored according to standard criteria set by the WFP Innovation Accelerator. Criteria include:
  • Your organization must be an established legal entity registered in the Philippines. Both for-profit or not-for-profit entities are eligible, including private sector, regional, provincial or local government unit authorities, academic institutions, foundations or NGOs;
  • Your organization should have an existing operational presence in the Philippines through a subsidiary, in-country office, distributors or partnerships in the country;
  • Your innovation must address one or more of the priority innovation areas listed above;
  • Your innovation must be at least at the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage;
  • Proof-of-concept and initial traction are preferred;
  • Your team should be able to implement your solution in at least one of the following provinces of the Philippines within one year of receiving possible funding from WFP, and have a clear pathway to scale: Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands, Albay, Catanduanes, Cagayan and Isabela. It is not necessary that your innovation is already implementing in any of these provinces at the time of application.

For more information, visit World Food Programme.