Innovate 4 Nature Awards (I4N Award) 2024 (Up to CHF 100,000 Prize)

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Success Goodluck
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Every year, Innovate 4 Nature presents the “I4N Award” in four main categories to recognize and promote projects, companies, and entrepreneurs who have created exceptional nature-positive solutions of high quality.

Innovate 4 Nature Awards
Innovate 4 Nature Awards

Through the Innovate 4 Nature Award, the objective is to identify and accelerate nature-positive solutions in collaboration with partners, ultimately aiming to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.

The primary goal of I4N is to offer assistance to entrepreneurs who are focusing on nature-friendly solutions in the early stages of their venture when they have a business plan or basic product that needs to be tested and validated.

The I4N Award focuses on four main areas:

  • sustainable management of ecosystems;
  • nature as infrastructure;
  • regenerative agriculture; and
  • circular nature-positive solutions.

Prize

provides cash prizes totalling CHF 100,000 for four primary categories.

  • Along with financial assistance, award recipients can take advantage of an ecosystem of partners and experts.
  • In addition, I4N Grants or training and mentoring opportunities may be offered to exceptionally promising nature-positive solution providers.

 Eligibility Requirements

  • Participation is completely free of charge.
  • There are no restrictions based on geographical location; organizations from any country can apply.
  • There are no specific requirements regarding legal structure, ownership, or age of the entity.
  • The minimum requirement is to have a business model, a business plan, a pilot product that can be brought to market, or a minimum viable product (MVP).
  • Only applications directly from founders are accepted; applications from fundraisers are not accepted.
  • If selected, at least one founder or executive director must be available either in person or via video call on the day of the Jury meeting: Thursday, June 13th, 2024, in Morges/Lausanne, Switzerland.

 Evaluation Criteria

Round 1

  • Business criteria: To evaluate the potential of your solution in a business context, they consider the following aspects:
  • Problem-Fit: How well your solution addresses the specific problem you have identified.
  • Financial viability: The potential for your business model to sustain itself at scale.
  • Maturity: The stage your solution is in, between the initial idea and the growth phase.
  • Team: The composition and skills of your team.
  • Nature/Biodiversity Criteria: The impact of your solution on the natural environment and biodiversity.
When assessing the potential of your solution in the nature/biodiversity space, they take into account the following elements:
  • Theory of change: Your ability to identify and articulate the positive impact of your solution.
  • Extent: The potential size of the area that will be positively affected by your solution.
  • Condition change: The potential magnitude of the positive change in ecosystem conditions.
  • Significance: The relative importance of the impacted area for biodiversity.
  • Transformation: The potential of your solution to bring about transformative changes in economic and social systems.

Round 2

The business aspects that are evaluated include:

  • Market understanding: Accurately assessing the size of the market and the level of competition.
  • Customers: Identifying both current and potential customers.
  • Competitive edge: Recognizing the strengths of your solution and how they can be advantageous over other competitors.
  • Revenue & Financials: Creating a practical financial model based on current operations.
  • Funding needs: Appropriately identifying the necessary funding for the next stage in the business plan.

The following factors are also considered:

  • Negative Impact: The ability to recognize and communicate any negative impacts that your solution may have.
  • Monetization: The inherent connections between the business model and financial evaluation.

Round 3

During the third round, while presenting in front of the judges, the criteria from the first and second rounds will be reviewed again, but in a simplified form. The members of the jury will assess the presentation and evaluate the solution based on those criteria.

 How To Apply

To begin your application  journey, click here 

For More Information visit the Official Webpage of the Innovate 4 Nature Awards 

Application Deadline

April 5th, 2024.

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