The following organizations are eligible to compete in the Challenge:

• Non-profit or non-governmental organizations from any country*
• Academic or research institutions (including teams of students or researchers as part of their university or research Institution’s submission) from any country*
• Early stage or emerging social enterprises and for-profit companies from any country* (see below for definition of early stage)

Individuals are not eligible to apply. Organizations are encouraged to form teams to compete in the Challenge. If two or more organizations form a team to compete, they should choose one of the organizations to serve as the “lead” applicant. 

*Excluded are countries or territories against which the U.S. and/or Germany maintains comprehensive sanctions (currently, Afghanistan, Belarus, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Sevastopol, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, the Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, & Zaporizhzhia Regions of Ukraine, and Venezuela).

​View the Selection Criteria

The Global Food System Challenge is intended to support innovations that benefit at least one of the intersecting domains visualized in the Innovation Focus Area diagram and that have the potential for significant long-term impact. 

The selection criteria prioritize the size of the impact on society, people and/or the environment, innovation, and the catalytic effect of the award funds on the innovation’s advancement. 

• Projects that have a negative effect on either the safety or healthfulness of food, the sustainability of the food supply chain, or that are unlikely to be accepted by the end-user or consumer 
• Initiatives for which funds will be used to support large for-profit entities in their commercial activities such as R&D, innovation, manufacturing or sales/marketing 
• Initiatives which are not scalable beyond the initial project scope and have limited projected impact over time 
• For-profit entities with significant financial assets or which passed Series A financing round 
• Theoretical concepts or ideas without any experiments or a reduction to practice 
• Projects associated with political campaigns, capital campaigns, or lobbying 
• Individual people with no existing organizational entity 

Seed Grant Application 

• Application deadline: 15 December, 2025 
• Announcement of award recipients: March 2026 

Growth Grants and Seeding The Future Grand Prize Application 

• Application deadline: 15 December, 2025 
• Finalists announced: March 2026
• Finalist interviews: March 2026
• Announcement of award recipients: May 2026

To apply for funding, applicants must submit: 

• Responses to all application questions 
• A project plan including scope, timeline, and budget

For-profit or social enterprise organizations must submit: 

• Most recent financial statement that includes a budget and revenue (including disclosure of current levels of investment and financial assets)
• If available, up to last three annual reports for Grand Prize and Growth Grants applications
• Articles of Incorporation or similar documents  
• Federal Tax ID Number (US), or tax status documentation 
• Certificate of good standing, indicating that the business is properly registered with the state or country
• Organizational chart of the shareholders (for companies), committees (NGO), or sponsors of the research institution

U.S. based non-profit or non-governmental organizations must submit: 

• Most recent financial statement (audited financials preferred but not required)
• Most recent 990 -OR-
• IRS letter of determination

Non-profit or non-governmental organizations based outside of the United States must submit: 

• Most recent financial statement (annual report or auditing statement if available; annual report mandatory for Grand Prize application)
• Documentation verifying that the applicant organization is currently registered as a non-profit organization (equivalent to a US 501(c)(3) public charity) in its country. Please note that WHH may follow up to request additional documentation to verify the applicant’s non-profit status 
• Organizational chart of the shareholders (for companies), committees (NGO), or sponsors of the research institution

Academic or Research Institutions must submit: 

• Most recent 990 OR most recent financial statement/annual report (annual report mandatory for Grand Prize application)
• Department-level budget that includes disclosure of current or pending grants/awards
• Tax Identification Number (US) or tax status documentation
• Organizational chart of the shareholders (for companies), committees (NGO), or sponsors of the research institution

To ensure equity and fairness in the review process, applicants must have completed all requested materials and submit them by the deadline indicated above. Late or incomplete submissions cannot be considered.

All winners will need to share the details of the bank account to which the Award Funds are to be transferred (including identification details of the account holder; must be the firm/institution and not a private individual).

Please ​contact​​ globalfoodsystemchallenge(at)welthungerhilfe.de with any ​questions.

Award Agreement

The application form includes a checkbox that you have read the agreement, are able to abide by its rules, and are authorized to enter into an agreement. The form includes an option to list exceptions that are critical for your organization to consider at the time of application to enable funding. Requested exceptions may be considered by WHH on a case-by-case basis but are not guaranteed.

Costs allowable under this Agreement are based on the Project and budget and shall be consistent with the Awardee’s policies. The Award Funds may be used for direct expenses such as personnel, cost for using existing hardware, existing pilot plant or existing laboratory infrastructure, necessary travel (coach/economy class), supplies, new equipment if specified in Exhibit A, contracted services, sub-grants, and consultants.

Conference related travel costs: The Awardee is highly encouraged to allocate up to $2,500 of the Award Funds to cover conference travel costs for one person from the project leadership team to attend as an invited speaker (in direct connection to its role as GFSC price winner e.g. at award ceremonies or dedicated side events) at a global, relevant conference (such as for example the World Food Forum in Rome, or the African Food Systems Summit). This allocation can cover reasonable, modest and necessary travel expenses (coach class airfare, ground transportation and accommodation) and should be spent during the duration of the project.

Indirect costs: Award Funds may also be used to pay any indirect costs so long as the aggregate amount of indirect costs does not exceed 6% of the total Award Funds. Indirect costs are defined as (1) overhead expenses incurred as a result of the Project, but that are not easily identifiable with the Project and (2) administrative expenses that are related to overall general operations and are shared among projects and/or functions. Examples of indirect costs include, but are not limited to, rent, insurance, gas, and electricity.

Grant funds cannot be used for lobbying activities, as described in sections 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Awardee will maintain ownership of any and all background technology and funded developments; provided, however, award funds may not be used to limit third party access to funded developments or any innovations created with the use of award funds. Award funds may not be used to file or pursue any patents. 

“Funded developments” means the products, services, processes, technologies, materials, software, data, other innovations, and intellectual property resulting from the project or portions of the project that are being funded by an award from this challenge (including modifications, improvements, and further developments to background technology). “Background technology” means any and all products, services, processes, technologies, materials, software, data, or other innovations, and intellectual property created by awardee or a third party prior to or outside of the project used as part of the project. 

Awardee has the exclusive right to select subcontractors to assist with the project. Awardee acknowledges that WHH has not and will not earmark the use of any award funds for a specific subcontractor.

To help WHH and the Selection Committee in their evaluation and analysis of proposals, all documents, communications, and associated materials submitted to WHH (collectively, “Submission Materials”) will be subject to external review by independent subject matter experts in addition to analysis by WHH employees, contingent workers, and/or consultants. Please consider carefully the information included in the Submission Materials. If you have any doubt about whether to disclose confidential or proprietary information, WHH recommends you consult with your legal counsel. You may wish to consider whether such information is critical for evaluating the submission, and whether more general, non-confidential information may be adequate as an alternative for these purposes. We respect confidential information we receive as long as it is clearly and explicitly stated in the proposal what portion of it constitutes confidential information. Nonetheless, notwithstanding your characterization of any information as being confidential, WHH may disclose all information contained in Submission Materials to the selection committee members to the extent it determines is necessary to evaluate them and the manner and scope of potential funding, as may be required by law, and as otherwise described in these Competition Rules. WHH may also share all Submission Materials with the Seeding the Future Foundation.

Each applicant agrees to maintain insurance coverage sufficient to cover the activities, risks, and potential omissions of the project in accordance with generally accepted industry standards and as required by law. Each applicant will ensure its sub-grantees and subcontractors maintain insurance coverage consistent with this section.

WHH is committed to honoring the diversity in our community and providing equal opportunity to all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, age, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, marital status, order of protection status, genetic information, sexual orientation, transgender status, and any other category protected by law.

WHH reserves the right to not award one or more grants if it determines, in its sole discretion, that no suitably qualified applicant exists. Similarly, WHH reserves the right to split an award in the event that there is a tie for a single award.

1. WHH and the Selection Committee reserve the right to request proof of critical information furnished by the applicants with reference to their business
2. Any misrepresentation of facts may lead to disqualification from the contest
3. All determinations by WHH will be final and cannot be challenged 
4. All prizes are subject to any applicable withholdings or taxes, including withholdings on U.S. source income. Winners will be required to provide WHH with any required information or executed forms before prizes may be paid
5. This contest is void where prohibited. WHH may be prohibited from accepting entries or awarding prizes from residents of certain foreign countries under regulations of the United States Treasury or the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control. Prizes will only be awarded in compliance with ​applicable United States and German laws. WHH reserves the right to reject applications, withdraw prizes or terminate the contest when in the best interests of WHH
6. Rules can be changed without prior notice

When you apply for and receive the Seeding The Future Foundation Award, we collect some personal data relating to you. Please note the following data protection information in accordance with Art. 13 GDPR:

1. The responsible party and how to contact us

Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V.
Address: Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 1, 53173 Bonn, Germany
Email: globalfoodsystemchallenge(at)welthungerhilfe.de
Welthungerhilfe data protection officer may be contacted via email: data.protection(at)welthungerhilfe.de

2. Purpose and legal basis of the processing

Your personal data is collected as part of the application process for Seeding The Future Foundation Award. This includes, among other things, an assessment of your eligibility and suitability for Seeding The Future Foundation grants. We reserve the right to obtain some data about you from other sources to assess your eligibility for the award, including a background check in accordance with our standards on anti-money-laundering/anti-terrorism financing (as per Award Agreement, art. 6.2).

Furthermore, as an Award recipient, your story, photos or videos can be used for the promotional materials by Welthungerhilfe and Seeding The Future Foundation (as per Award Agreement, art. 7.1). The legal basis for processing your personal data is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. This personal data is a prerequisite for our contractual relationship.

3. With whom will your personal data be shared

The personal data you submit in your application is reviewed by external contractors operating on behalf and at the instructions of Welthungerhilfe. Your personal data is also shared with Seeding The Future Foundation, based in the United States, as part of the selection and award management process. To manage the application workflow, we are using a software called RhythmQ, based in Canada.

4. How long will we keep your personal data

The data stored by us will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for its intended purpose and there are no legal retention obligations preventing its deletion. In accordance with legal requirements under German law, some personal data may be stored for up to 10 years if it falls within the scope of § 147 (1) of the German Fiscal Code (AO) (books, records, management reports, accounting documents, documents relevant for taxation, etc.). If your data is retained under this requirement, it will be blocked and not processed for other purposes.

5. Your rights as the data subject

• Right to access – Upon request and authentication, we will inform you in writing in accordance with applicable law whether personal data concerning you is being processed. If this is the case, you have the right to information about this personal data and to the information specified in detail in Art. 15 GDPR.
• Right to rectification – If the personal data concerning you is inaccurate, you have the right to request the immediate rectification or completion of incomplete personal data (Art. 16 GDPR). We will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis.
• Right to deletion – You have the right to have personal data concerning you deleted immediately if one of the reasons listed in detail in Art. 17 GDPR applies. We will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis.
• Right to restriction of processing – You also have the right to request the restriction of processing if one of the conditions listed in Art. 18 GDPR applies.
   

6. Rights to complain to the supervisory authority

You have the right to submit a complaint to the responsible Supervisory Authority:

State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information North Rhine-Westphalia.
Address: Kavalleriestr. 2, 40213 Düsseldorf
Phone: +49211-384240
Email: poststelle(at)ldi.nrw.de