Farm to Home – a startup that delivers fresh fruit and vegetables at doorstep – won the grand 1st prize at the NutriBiz 2021 Nutrition Innovation Challenge held in Islamabad.
Farm to Home connects farmers (producers) to the end consumer digitally. They buy the product, store it and sell it through an online platform and outlets. The service is currently available in Islamabad and Peshawar only.
The Nutribiz Challenge 2021, organized by Teamup and Sun Business Network to find innovative solutions in the food and nutrition space, has successfully concluded. The closing ceremony, held on June 29, was attended by key personnel from Teamup, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Engro Foods, Jazz, and Ignite.
As many as 25 startups were shortlisted for Round 1 of the challenge after which top 10 startups underwent a 5-day bootcamp to prepare for the grand finale.
The top three participants were:
- 1st Prize: Farm to Home
- 2nd Prize: Asqurr
- 3rd Prize: NFP (Nutribreads)
Mushpreneur received the award for the Most Impactful Idea while InstaFoods bragged the award for the Best Female Entrepreneur.
The Innovation Challenge was organized as part of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, aiming to reduce the malnutrition burden through encouraging innovation by SMEs and startups. More than 350 applications were received from SMEs and startups across the country under thematic areas of Product Innovation, Market Connectivity, Minimizing Food Wastage, Cutting Edge Farm Technologies, Food Safety, Promoting a Healthy Diet through Education and Supply Chain Management during a pandemic.
Participants received training and mentorship on investment readiness, building business acumen, the art of pitching, and how to overcome challenges specific to the
food and nutrition industry.
Engro Foods joined hands with Teamup and GAIN, as the main sponsor and partner for the event, by contributing prize money of PKR 1.9 million for the winners, along with providing judges and mentors for the event.
“We are extremely happy to conclude this event with such impactful ideas which have the potential to transform and disrupt this space. Malnutrition is a challenge faced by many countries across the globe and GAIN is committed to its vision for eradicating food and nutrition-related problems from the world. We are happy to have partnered with Teamup and have leveraged their network to make this event a success” said Shadab Fariduddin of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
Syed Fakhar Imam, the Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest, while Dr. Mahamadou Tanimoune from World Food Program was invited as the Guest of Honor. The event comprised of a
panel discussion on “Malnutrition: Can Innovation in Nutrition Help?”
Around 60-second pitches were delivered by the finalists to share their impactful ideas with the audience, and prize distribution ceremony for the winners.
Zouhair Khaliq, co-founder Teamup, congratulated all participants and winners of the event and encouraged them to build and take their impactful solutions to the next level. “Your relationship with Teamup does not end here, and we are here to extend all possible support required by you at any stage of your business cycle in coming times,” he said while addressing the participants of the event.
The Pakistan Nutribiz Challenge 2021 was organized and executed using guidelines and protocols of the National Incubation Center’s flagship project Hacktivate. This was the fifth challenge organized and successfully executed by Teamup, after the success of its hackathons on Education, Health, Agriculture and Fintech.
Teamup is an incubation and acceleration platform, and is playing a pivotal role in leading the startup ecosystem in Pakistan. It has conceptualized and is managing the National Incubation Center (NIC) since 2016 in partnership with the Ministry of IT and Jazz. Teamup, under various projects, has till date supported 250+ startups and 500+ startup founders, delivered 3000+ hours of curriculum, and helped startups raise more than PKR 2B investment, and earn more than PKR 3B in revenue.
The SUN Business Network (SBN) is one of the four global networks that support SUN (Scaling Up Nutrition) countries (along with UN, Civil Society and Donor Networks). It aims to reduce malnutrition in all its forms through mobilizing business to invest and innovate in responsible and sustainable actions and operations.