Lausanne, Switzerland, January 15, 2025 – MassChallenge Switzerland opens the call for applications today until March 5 to the 10th edition of its Early-Stage Startup Accelerator program, for startups providing solutions in any sector, with a focus on 3 Tracks: Sustainable Food, Sustainable & Efficient Industry and HealthTech.
Participating startups will be mentored by some 15 corporate partners, including Bühler, dsm-firmenich, Eisberg, Givaudan, Louis Dreyfus Company, Novonesis, Omya, PMI, SMC and Südzucker, and will benefit from the advice of over 400 experts. Participants will compete for over CHF 500,000 in non-dilutive cash prizes and other in-kind awards, without any equity investment in return.
On this same occasion, MassChallenge Switzerland and Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) also announce the opening of applications for the 2025 LDC Climate Resilience Prize, which will be awarded to the startup with the most promising climate impact in the food and agriculture space. The winner of this additional, unconditional, non-dilutive cash prize of CHF 100,000 will be announced at the MassChallenge Switzerland award ceremony on October 30, 2025, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Michael Gelchie, LDC’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We’re pleased to once again sponsor the LDC Climate Resilience prize, established in 2023 with MassChallenge Switzerland, to support visionary startups whose ideas, technologies and solutions have the highest potential for lasting positive climate impact in food and agricultural supply chains. We look forward to connecting and collaborating with more innovative and like-minded entrepreneurs who are helping to shape a more sustainable future for the benefit of current and future generations.”
Ian Roberts, President of MassChallenge Switzerland added: “I am delighted to collaborate for a third consecutive year with Louis Dreyfus Company on the LDC Climate Resilience Prize. Indeed, MassChallenge Switzerland is supporting startups whose work contributes to tackling climate issues and with the LDC Climate Resilience prize it will enable more startups to deliver meaningful change that can reduce emissions in the food value chain and feed the world sustainably”.
Discover the 118 finalists from 2024 and get further information here (picture of the 2024 Awards ceremony, the LDC Climate Resilience Prize Winner 2024, the 2024 impact report, etc.).
About MassChallenge Switzerland
MassChallenge Switzerland is part of the MassChallenge global network for innovators. MassChallenge equips bold entrepreneurs to grow and transform businesses & economies. Since MassChallenge Switzerland’s launch in 2016, they have accelerated 950 startups who have raised CHF 2B in funding and generated over 59,000 direct and indirect jobs. Learn more about MassChallenge and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Media contact: elodie@masschallenge.org
About Louis Dreyfus Company
Louis Dreyfus Company is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods, founded in 1851. We leverage our global reach and extensive asset network to serve our customers and consumers around the world, delivering the right products to the right location, at the right time – safely, reliably and responsibly. Our activities span the entire value chain, from farm to fork, across a broad range of business lines (platforms): Coffee, Cotton, Food & Feed Solutions, Freight, Global Markets, Grains & Oilseeds, Juice, Rice and Sugar. We help feed and clothe some 500 million people every year by originating, processing and transporting approximately 80 million tons of products. Louis Dreyfus Company is active in over 100 countries across six geographical regions, and employs approximately 18,000 people globally.
For more information, visit www.ldc.com and follow us on social media: LinkedIn, X, Facebook.
Media contact: media@ldc.com