Organised by the SUN Business Network, 21 finalists were selected through a rigorous series of national and virtual competitions, from over 500 SMEs from 24 countries that entered the competition.
Shining a spotlight on agri-food entrepreneurs from across Africa and Asia, winners of the 2020 Global SUN Pitch Competition were announced on Thursday 30th July. The 21 finalists in the competition are small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), showcasing their innovative business solutions to improve nutrition for low-income consumers.
In the final round, in a race for a range of cash and business mentorship prizes, the selected finalists pitched their innovative solutions for improved nutrition to a panel of four judges.
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At the culmination of an exciting final, The Cargill Prize for Innovations to Enable Access to Improved Nutrition was awarded to Poulta Inc from Pakistan. “Cargill is a big player in the world and in dealing with poultry in particular, so this is very good news for Poulta,” Ali Murtaza Solangi said in reaction to winning this prize. His SME has embraced technologies including blockchain, artificial intelligence and internet-of-things to disrupt the poultry industry by establishing a data-driven monitoring system for industry-wide use. “I really like Poulta, from looking at the innovation to the way they use the tech throughout the whole supply chain,” enthused Charlotte.
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Speaking on the wider ambitions of the competition, Jonathan Tench, Global SUN Business Network Coordinator said: “The SUN Business Network aims to increase the availability and affordability of safe, nutritious foods for low-income consumers across Africa and Asia. SMEs provide most of the food that reaches these consumers which is why we focus on supporting the businesses, like the competition’s finalists, to pitch their best innovations to investors and grow their businesses – and their impact on nutrition.’
