Impact Funding Resources
Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) and MassChallenge Switzerland are pleased to introduce the third edition of the LDC Climate Resilience Prize - an unconditional and non-dilutive CHF 100,000 cash prize to support startups working to drive climate resilience in agriculture and food value chains.
Start Date15 Jan 2025 End Date05 Mar 2025 Funding AmountUpto CHF 100k Funding Resource TypeInnovation Award
Funding ProviderLouis Dreyfus Company ,MassChallenge Switzerland
Innovation Award
Louis Dreyfus Company ,MassChallenge Switzerland
We are looking for proven solutions or technologies in the areas of:
• Impact on land use - regenerative agriculture, smart farming, water reduction, pesticide and fertilizer reduction, crop health and yield increases, biodiversity protection.
• Traceability - end-to-end supply chain traceability, from farm to consumer.
• Upcycling - upgrading low value agri commodities, side-stream utilization.
• CO2 reduction - applications in agriculture value chains, including feed, processing, land and maritime transportation.
We are looking for startups that:
1. Have impactful products, technologies, processes, and solutions that can contribute to climate resilience in food and agriculture production, by decarbonizing value chains. Startups will be asked to quantify their solution’s impact in relation to CO2 removed/avoided over the next 10 years until 2035 using the MassChallenge Impact Calculator. For example: How many tons of CO2 will you avoid emitting, or sequester per ton of your product per annum? How many m3 of fresh water will you save per annum? How many tons of waste material will you prevent from being emitted each year? How many tons of natural resources will you recover or prevent from being wasted each year?
2. Have a viable idea. Startups must be able to demonstrate traction among those participating in their solution, as well as how their idea is financially sustainable. For example: data showing sales to consumers, manufacturers or farmers, or the size of their supply base (ie farmers), or their business model.
3. Have a scalable idea. Startups must be able to show how their solution scales and that their pricing is market competitive. Scaling could involve LDC, but this is optional. For example: reach millions of farmers, be sold to millions of consumers, be applied in manufacturing plants.
4. Are from Pre-seed to Series C+. We encourage both early- and late-stage startups to apply. What’s important is the impact, viability and scalability of your idea and how it contributes to climate resilience in food and ag-tech.
5. Are from any geography. Startups from around the world can apply. However, as physical accelerator events are in Switzerland, startups should ensure they are able to travel to Europe. The selection process will be carried out online.
