Net Impact announces the Food Solutions Challenge, an accelerator and pitch competition focused on finding solutions to the most pressing issues in food and agriculture. Applicants must submit their ideas through the Net Impact website by May 15, 2021. 

Net Impact continually engages our community to reimagine unsustainable systems and create innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing issues in food and agriculture. For the fifth consecutive year, we are asking Net Impact chapter members to design actionable ideas that address a specific challenge question. This year, the Food Solutions Challenge is focusing on strengthening smallholder farming resilience. 

Climate change is already negatively affecting smallholder farmers, whether it is through droughts, floods, pests, less predictable weather patterns, or other impacts. Additionally, these farmers face daunting political, economic, social, cultural, and institutional barriers. The COVID-19 pandemic has only added to farmers’ challenges. Yet, smallholder farmers are an integral part of the food production ecosystem, providing up to 80% of the food needed in developing countries. Strengthening smallholder resilience to crises like these is critical to building a more sustainable and secure food production system.

For the first time, semi-finalist teams will be invited to join the 2021 Net Impact Accelerator, hosted in partnership with Eidos Global's Social Innovation Warehouse. The Social Innovation Warehouse is an accelerator program that supports young entrepreneurs developing social impact businesses that impact the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through the accelerator, semi-finalist teams will gain the connections, mentorship, and tools needed to successfully develop their solution into a scalable enterprise.

“Net Impact is proud to partner with Eidos Global's Social Innovation Warehouse,” said Peter Lupoff, CEO of Net Impact. “Collectively we will work to enhance the vision and passion of today’s emerging leaders to strengthen resilience for smallholder farmers and amplify the global effort to feed the world.”

Up to five semi-finalists will be selected to participate in the eight-week 2021 Net Impact Accelerator run in partnership with Eidos Global’s Social Innovation Warehouse. The winning team will receive $5,000. The Challenge is open to both students and professionals worldwide.

Net Impact invites participants to form a team of 2-4 and formulate a proposal that addresses the challenge question, defined in the challenge brief, about how to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farming. Solutions must be submitted by May 15, 2021. Teams that submit their solution prior to March 15 will receive early bird feedback from Net Impact staff to improve their submission before the final deadline. 

The Food Solutions Challenge is supported by title sponsors Bayer, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and supporting sponsor, the Coca-Cola Company.

About Net Impact

Net Impact is a global community of students and professionals who aspire to be effective drivers of economic, social, and environmental change. Our programs—delivered from our headquarters in Oakland, CA, as well as globally through our 400+ Chapters—connect our members to the skills, experiences, and people that will allow them to have the greatest impact. With over 140,000 members, Net Impact takes on social challenges, protects the environment, invents new products, and orients business toward the greater good. In short, we help our members turn their passions into a lifetime of world-changing action. Visit www.netimpact.org.