Lausanne, Switzerland, January 25, 2023 – MassChallenge Switzerland opened today the call for applications for the 8th edition of its Early-Stage Startup Accelerator, alongside a new Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) Climate Resilience Prize supporting startups working to drive climate resilience in agriculture and food value chains.
The 2023 Early-Stage Accelerator program is now open for applications until March 1st, for startups providing solutions in one of the following fields: Sustainable Food, Sustainable Industry, Climate Solutions, and HealthTech.
By enrolling in the accelerator, startups will gain exposure to more than 15 global corporate partners, including Bühler, Bystronic, DSM, Givaudan, LDC, Nestlé, Omya, PMI, SMC, and Südzucker. Startups will also benefit from mentoring from over 400 experts and compete for up to CHF 1 million in non-dilutive cash prizes and other in-kind awards, all without any equity investment in return.
The accelerator program is open to startups whose solutions include goals to offset or actively reduce emissions when at scale.
It is in this same spirit that MassChallenge Switzerland and LDC are introducing the new LDC Climate Resilience Prize, which will be awarded to the startup with the biggest climate impact potential. This unconditional and non-dilutive cash prize of CHF 100,000 comes in addition to MassChallenge Switzerland’s other non-dilutive cash prizes, and the winning startup will be selected at the MassChallenge Switzerland award ceremony on October 26, in Lausanne.
Michael Gelchie, LDC’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Through this partnership with MassChallenge Switzerland, LDC is excited to connect and collaborate with innovative and like-minded startups looking to tackle climate resilience challenges in supply chains from farm to fork, aiming ultimately to help shape a more sustainable future of food and agriculture, while creating fair and sustainable value for the benefit of current and future generations.”
Ian Roberts, President of MassChallenge Switzerland added: “Since 2021, MassChallenge Switzerland has been supporting startups whose work contributes to tackling climate issues And, as part of this mission, I am delighted and grateful to partner with LDC as the sponsor and architect of the new LDC Climate Resilience Prize for this year’s program.”
About MassChallenge Switzerland
MassChallenge Switzerland is part of MassChallenge’s global network for innovators. MassChallenge equips bold entrepreneurs to grow and transform businesses & economies. Since MassChallenge Switzerland’s launch in 2016, they have accelerated 610 startups who have raised CHF985M in funding and generated 29,000 Jobs. Learn more about MassChallenge at https://masschallenge.org/programs-switzerland
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For further information, please 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): Carbon Solutions, 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. Structured as a matrix organization of six geographical regions and ten platforms, Louis Dreyfus Company is active in over 100 countries and employs approximately 17,000 people globally. For more information, visit www.ldc.com and follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn and WeChat (ID: we_are_ldc).
Media Contact
For further information, please contact: media@ldc.com