WFP Innovation Accelerator

What happens when innovators from across the food ecosystem come together? New ideas are challenged, different perspectives are discussed and connections are built. That’s why opportunities for exchange matter to us at the WFP Innovation Accelerator. Hila Cohen, WFP’s Deputy Head of Innovation, joined the 5th AgriFood Demo Day in Munich. Together with Claudia Luksch, Sebastiaan Berendse, Katharina Riehn and Dr. Susann Vierbauch, she joined the panel “Building the Knowledge Base for Food Security Through Research and Innovation,” as part of a symposium focused on food resilience in Europe   Food security is a challenge none of us can tackle alone. By connecting research, entrepreneurship, technology and humanitarian experience, we can learn from one another and strengthen the solutions that move us forward. Thank you to UnternehmerTUM and everyone who joined the exchange! #FoodSecurity #Innovation #AgriFood #Partnerships

🌍 Innovating for Data-Driven Operations in Mali 🌱 In Mali, WFP is advancing data-driven innovation to strengthen climate resilience, monitoring and operational efficiency in challenging environments. 🚀 Through a partnership with Ignitia, localized weather forecasting is enabling farmers and WFP to plan more effectively with appropriate insights. 📊 At the same time, geospatial analysis and satellite imagery are improving monitoring in hard-to-reach areas, while an AI-driven photo de-duplication pilot identified over 6,400 duplicate households, generating significant cost savings and improving data accuracy. 💡 Key lesson: combining data intelligence, remote sensing and AI can transform decision-making and optimize programme delivery at scale. 🤝 Innovation in Mali is harnessing data and technology to build smarter, more resilient operations.

What happens when communities and governments work together, using technology to strengthen disaster risk response? ✨ That’s exactly what CRISTA is making possible. Developed by the Asian Institute of Technology, CRISTA is a digital platform that helps local governments improve disaster response and infrastructure monitoring. A part of the second cohort of the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator (HIA), this solution empowers communities to report incidents while enabling authorities to monitor infrastructure and coordinate responses in near real time. 📸 Here are some snapshots of colleagues from the WFP Innovation Accelerator and the CRISTA team in #Laos as they discussed and tested the solution firsthand! Click the link in the comments to learn about the HIA programme ⬇️

This week at #UNGA81, Circle Foundation, UNDP and World Food Programme have agreed to expand their collaboration on digital payments through stablecoin for development and humanitarian action. 💡 Now, why is this an important milestone? Too many people remain excluded from the opportunities that come with fully participating in the global economy. - Cross-border payments are often slow and expensive, and - access to financial services remains uneven. For people affected by conflict, displacement, or climate shocks, these barriers can be even greater. Access to money is not simply about convenience. It is about security, opportunity, and often survival. That is why this collaboration between the Circle Foundation, UNDP, and WFP is exciting; to expand how regulated stablecoins can help make development and humanitarian payments faster, more affordable, and more accessible for the communities we serve. Learn more about this partnership in the release linked in the comments ⤵️

What are we talking about when it comes to World Food Programme innovation at #UNGA81? With 266 million people facing acute hunger worldwide, innovation is not a nice-to-have. It is essential to how we respond to growing challenges driven by conflict, climate shocks, and rising costs. 💚 At WFP, innovation is helping us do more with less and reach people faster; making humanitarian operations more efficient, effective and resilient. 🚛 From AI-enabled supply chains that improve how food and assistance reach communities, 📲 to innovative financing mechanisms that unlock faster and more flexible support, we're using innovation to cut costs, accelerate delivery, and strengthen resilience. Because ending hunger will require more than new technologies. It requires courageous collaboration, practical solutions, and a shared commitment to scale what works. Swipe through to read about some such #WFP innovations ⬇️

For the past two years, the World Food Programme Ethiopia and the WFP Innovation Accelerator have been implementing the Integrated Risk and Post-harvest Management in Amhara (IRMA) programme in #Ethiopia. Funded by BASF Stiftung, IRMA helps smallholder farmers strengthen their resilience through climate risk insurance while reducing post-harvest losses to improve incomes and food security. Since its launch, IRMA has made significant strides across the Amhara region, helping food-insecure smallholder farmers better manage risks, access markets and protect their livelihoods. 🌾 Swipe through the carousel to learn more about the programme, explore its impact on the ground, and hear about the journey of the farmers and communities it supports.

We would like to extend our warmest congratulations and welcome to Luke J. Lindberg on his appointment as the next Executive Director of World Food Programme. At the WFP Innovation Accelerator, we believe innovation is essential to delivering greater impact at scale. Looking ahead, having the new Executive Director on board provides us with an opportunity to push the boundaries of what’s possible. We are looking forward to harnessing technology, partnerships and new approaches to strengthen operational efficiency, improve accountability and help WFP reach more people with the resources entrusted to us. We cannot wait to build new partnerships, scale innovations that deliver measurable results, and support WFP's mission to end hunger together. Read more about the appointment here: https://buff.ly/e7ALK4H

Congratulations to the SCOUT team and WFP Supply Chain colleagues around the world! Receiving the 2026 Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics, a first for a UN entity, is a testament to WFP’s leadership in humanitarian innovation. 🩵 From its earliest days, SCOUT has pushed the boundaries of how humanitarians can plan supply chains and make decisions quickly and purposefully, allowing us to better deliver support to vulnerable communities in need. Behind this recognition is years of dedication and investment into innovation, artificial intelligence and operationalizing innovation at scale. We are honoured to support these efforts alongside the WFP Supply Chain Programme team and country office colleagues, working together to transform humanitarian operations through innovation.

🌪️ Innovating for Smarter Disaster Response in the Dominican Republic 🌍 In the Dominican Republic, WFP is advancing ANACAONA, a data-driven platform transforming rainfall and hurricane response through real-time analytics and integrated data systems. ⚡ Deployed during the 2025 hurricane season, ANACAONA reduced analysis time from days to minutes, strengthening institutional capacity and enabling faster, more informed decision-making during emergencies. 📊 By integrating meteorological, hydrological and exposure data, and combining automated analytics with adaptable dashboards, the platform improved situational awareness and operational efficiency. Its interoperability supported long-term adoption within government systems. 💡 Key lesson: real-time data integration, automation, adaptability, and strong capacity building are critical to effective emergency response and sustainable system uptake. 🤝 Data-driven innovation is helping reshape disaster preparedness and response in the Dominican Republic.

🌍 Innovating for Scale and Inclusion in Rwanda 🌱 In Rwanda, WFP is advancing a mature and diverse innovation portfolio across finance, markets, youth, refugees and climate, demonstrating strong potential for scale and replication. 🚀 In 2025, the team delivered six innovation projects and one programme, driving impact through initiatives like SheCan for women’s financial inclusion, Innovation BRIDGE, Farm to Market Alliance, and Flood Hub for anticipatory action. 📊 Through three editions of the IGNITE Challenge, Rwanda supported 21 locally led enterprises with US$680,000 in seed funding, achieving an estimated 90% average annual production increase. In 2025 alone, the IGNITE 3.0 innovation challenge created 166 jobs and reached more than 2,700 refugees, strengthening self-reliance and livelihoods. 🌾 These efforts, powered by diverse partnerships, are helping 2,500 youth adopt climate-smart agriculture while building more resilient and inclusive food systems. 💡 Key lesson: integrated innovation portfolios that connect finance, markets, and capacity can unlock scalable impact across multiple sectors. 🤝 Innovation in Rwanda is building pathways to resilience, inclusion and sustainable growth.