MassChallenge Switzerland Joins FAO’s 80th Anniversary Celebrations to Spotlight Global South Innovators

As the World Food Forum (WFF) 2025 concludes today in Rome, marking the Food and Agriculture Organization’s FAO 80th anniversary, MassChallenge Switzerland proudly celebrates the shared commitment to transforming global food systems through innovation. In collaboration with the WFF, MassChallenge highlighted five promising Global South startups this year.

Celebrating Innovation in Nutrition and Food Security

MassChallenge Switzerland warmly congratulates the WFF finalists and winners for their remarkable achievements and shared commitment to tackling global nutrition and food security challenges.

Building on this momentum, and out of 5 outstanding startups, MassChallenge Switzerland will award the “Fighting Malnutrition and Enhancing Food Security Prize” (€10,000) on October 30, 2025, during its 10-Year Anniversary Awards Ceremony in Lausanne.

From Acceleration to Action

Selected from hundreds of applications, these youth-led ventures are tackling some of the world’s most urgent food and nutrition challenges. Their participation in MassChallenge Switzerland’s accelerator marks a key milestone in the collaboration between MassChallenge and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s World Food Forum, which jointly aim to strengthen innovation ecosystems across the Global South.

“We want to enable these high potential high impact startups by connecting them to both our partner and mentor networks. We hope that this advice and expertise, and perhaps even joint collaboration, leads to startups’ solutions being rolled out to fight malnutrition and strengthen food systems, so we not only address urgent health challenges but also accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Matt Lashmar, Managing Director of MassChallenge Switzerland. From Acceleration to Action

Over 2 months, these five startups became an integral part of the MassChallenge Switzerland community, engaging in the Halftime Bootcamp, online curriculum sessions, and the mentorship programme supported by 603 mentors and 557 judges from the MassChallenge community. Through tailored guidance, corporate connections, and peer collaboration, the founders enhanced their business models and scaled their impact potential.

”By joining forces with MassChallenge Switzerland, we are able to support high-potential startups from the Global South with the networks and visibility they need to grow. It’s inspiring to see so many solutions led by and supporting youth and women, proof  that inclusive innovation is not only possible, but essential to addressing global nutrition challenges,” said Abir Kharrat, Youth Innovation Specialist, FAO. 

Meet the Five Finalists

=> Click on their picture to watch the video.

Croptimus (Egypt): Using AI-optimized pyrolysis to turn agri-waste into biochar, boosting yields and restoring soils. 

dprotein (Mexico): Developing optimized, affordable proteins to strengthen global food resilience.

EcoPlant Protein (Kenya): Turning agricultural waste into sustainable plant proteins to improve equitable access to nutrition.

Koji (Colombia): Leveraging fermentation and data science to create natural, functional food ingredients that reduce harmful additives. 

Millets Now (India): Combating iron deficiency with “Nutri Dabba”, a millet-based nutrition solution for children and women. 

Each of these ventures represents the entrepreneurial energy of the Global South, offering scalable and locally grounded solutions to address malnutrition, food insecurity, and agricultural sustainability.

Join Us at the 2025 Awards Ceremony

The five startups are among the finalists competing for the €10,000 Fighting Malnutrition and Enhancing Food Security Prize, part of the FAO World Food Forum Startup Innovation Awards 2025. The winner will be announced at the MassChallenge Switzerland Awards Ceremony in Lausanne on October 30, 2025.

👉 Register here to support the winner, and meet other impactful founders at the 2025 Awards Ceremony

About MassChallenge Switzerland. MassChallenge is the global network for innovators and the world’s largest equity-free accelerator. Since 2016, MassChallenge Switzerland has accelerated more than 950 startups that have collectively raised CHF 2 billion and created 59,000 jobs. Learn more at masschallenge.org and follow us on LinkedIn.

About the World Food Forum. The World Food Forum (WFF) is an open and inclusive global platform established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2021 to drive the transformation of agrifood systems through the power of youth, science and innovation, and investment. It brings together stakeholders of all ages and sectors to turn ideas into action, scale solutions, and foster meaningful partnerships that accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

At the core of the WFF is the Global Youth Action Initiative, which harnesses the passion and ingenuity of young people to advance inclusive food governance, drive youth-led innovation and promote sustainable solutions. Through a diverse set of thematic programmes-covering policy engagement, innovation. cultural expression and grassroots action-the initiative empowers youth with the skills, resources and platforms they need to lead transformative change at local, national and global levels.