Calling Renewable Energy and Agriculture Innovations: Youth Innovator Prize of $75,000 & the Mid-Stage Innovator Prize of $100,000

Deadline: 29 January 2020

The Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) Asia Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy (EDGE) Ag-Energy Prize is seeking applications from business owners and entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia with game-changing innovations operating at the nexus of renewable energy, and agriculture.

The prize competition will spur, recognize, and reward outstanding enterprises from both youth innovators and mid-stage businesses in the Southeast Asian footprint. The prize competition aims to:

Identify and fund promising innovators at the nexus of renewable energy and agriculture;
Explore market activity about the nature, progress, and scale of small and growing enterprises in the region; and
Improve awareness of WE4F and Asia EDGE development initiatives among the business community.

The Prize is open to mid-stage businesses and youth innovators. Applicants will be judged on their understanding of the problems within the sector, the potential social impact of their innovation, the viability of their business model, and their ability to target markets at the base of the pyramid.

Prizes

The Prize includes a $355,000 cash prize purse for winners and runners-up, travel sponsorship to participate in the Clean Asia Energy Forum in Manila, the Philippines in June 2020, and customized acceleration services from the WE4F Asia Regional Hub.
In addition, 10 mid-stage and 5 youth innovator prize finalists will benefit from recognition on the WE4F website, communications materials, and travel support to participate in a co-creation workshop in Bangkok, Thailand in March 2020 to discuss challenges and opportunities in the renewable energy, and agriculture nexus in Asia.
Mid-Stage Enterprises Prize:
- One $100,000 prize for the Grand Prize
- One $65,000 prize for the 1st runners up
- One $50,000 prize for the 2nd runner up
Youth Innovators Prize:
- One $75,000 prize for 1st prize
- One $65,000 prize for runner-up

Eligibility Criteria

Mid-Stage Enterprises Eligibility
- To be eligible for the mid-stage prize, enterprises must have existing services or products in the renewable energy – agriculture nexus. Enterprises with unit costs of $100 or less must have a minimum of 2,500 customers; while enterprises with a unit cost of greater than $100 must have a minimum of 1,000 customers to be eligible.
Youth Innovators Prize
- For the Youth Innovators Prize, applicants must be under the age of 30 with a pre-revenue or post-revenue business model innovation in the renewable energy – agriculture nexus. The company must have a working prototype or minimum viable product along with a demonstrated BOP market segment being targeted, and be registered and operating within the countries in section.
General Rules for Eligibility (applicable to both Mid-Stage and Youth)
- Organization type: Applicants from any category of organization or institution, U.S. or non-U.S., are welcome to apply. This includes, but is not limited to, for-profit organizations. Not-for-profit organizations, foundations, educational, industrial, and academic institutions, civic groups, and regional organizations are eligible to apply IF and only if they have a sustainable and financially viable business model for their innovation or if they are partnering with a registered business working at the nexus of renewable energy, and agriculture. Note that the public sector and government entities (excluding universities) are not eligible to apply.
- Innovators new to prize competitions, including non-development experts and applicants from low- and middle-income countries are particularly encouraged to apply.
  - Women-led and women-owned businesses are encouraged to apply.
  - Businesses that focus on the base of the pyramid customers are encouraged to apply.
- Country of Implementation: The WE4F Asia EDGE Ag-Energy Prize seeks applications that have an operational focus in low-income and middle-income countries in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam.
- Language: The official language of the WE4F Asia EDGE Ag-Energy Prize competition is English. The WE4F Asia EDGE Ag-Energy Prize Application and all communications must be in English.