Deadline: 27-Jul-20
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced a 2020 Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum Innovation Challenge.
The 2020 AIS Innovation Challenge is a two-round business competition that is looking for early-stage (from ideation stage to MVP development) startups that have a unique business model that can help themselves, other companies, or society at large withstand a crisis situation. A Startup shall consist of at least 2 people and one of the team members must have a nationality from an AIS country.
The objective of the assignment is to assist AIS Forum Secretariat to find solutions or business ideas that will strengthen the economy of archipelagic and island states, which in most cases, are more vulnerable to climate change impacts (i.e, sea-level rise, heavy storm, long drought, etc), unsustainable use of ocean resources, marine plastic debris, and other natural disasters (i.e, earthquake, mount eruption, tsunami)
In the 1st round, all teams have to submit their proposals. A panel of reviewers will select the best and most convincing proposals to go to the next round. In the 2nd round, 20 selected teams will get the opportunity to present their plan (virtual pitching session) to a panel of judges. A crisis is defined as a time of great danger, difficulty, or doubt when problems must be solved or important decisions must be made on a country or global scale. It includes, but not limited to, a pandemic, economic crisis, climate change-related events (i.e. long droughts, wildfire, frequent flooding, sea-level rise, etc), and armed conflict.
Funding Information
The 1st winner will get prize money of $10,000 and the runner-up will receive $5000. The top-10 teams get a chance to present their business in front of investors and bring their ideas to the AIS Forum High-level Meeting where they get to explain it to the head of states who attend the event.
Expected Outputs and Scope of Work
The key outputs and scope of work under this assignment are:
- Business proposal: Each team has to submit a 7-page (maximum) pitch deck that describes the business idea, the market, the team, 3-year financial projection and metrics, presenting the detailed assessment in written form.
- Virtual pitching: Teams will have to conduct virtual pitching with the panelists. They have to elaborate further on how their businesses create value and help other companies or the society at large withstand a crisis situation.
Criteria
The selected companies are expected to provide:
- A 7-page (maximum) pitch deck that describes the business idea, the market, the team, 3-year financial projection and metrics, presenting the detailed assessment in written form
- List of proposed Personnel and their Resumes that show their nationality and age
Minimum requirements include:
- One of the personnel must possess a nationality from an AIS country
- Minimum of 18 years of age
- Has skill and competency in English, written and oral
- Proficiency in English language, spoken and written. The team must have the ability to write reports and make presentations in English.
For more information, visit https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=68040