Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) Challenge Guidelines for Applicants

The Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) challenge, a partnership between the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) and Shockwave Foundation, invites proposals for nature-positive agricultural innovations in East Africa. The program aims to transition seed-level ideas into sustainable, funding-ready businesses through a structured process of mentoring, leadership training, and investment brokering. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations, start-ups, and academia from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Winners receive tailored support, including up to 24 hours of mentoring over three months, access to a Leadership Academy, and potential next-stage funding for implementation and scaling over 12 months.

• The RAIN challenge targets the conversion of "seed-level innovative agricultural ideas" in East Africa into "sustainable business ideas of interest to private investors and funders," addressing the need for agricultural systems transformation in the face of climate change.
• Eligible applicants must be located in East Africa, specifically Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, and can include not-for-profit organizations, international NGOs, academia, start-ups, hubs, and accelerators.
• To be eligible, solutions must be "nature positive," meaning they avoid further degradation, restore nature, and provide benefits such as "conservation, biodiversity gains, CO2 capture," while remaining climate smart and building resilience.
• The selection process evaluates submissions based on a 100-point scale across six criteria: potential for impact (20), level of innovation (15), equity (15), additionality (15), team experience (15), and potential for profitability (10), with a separate 10-point risk assessment.
• Winners receive a comprehensive support package to become "funding-ready," which includes up to 24 hours of mentoring over three months, a Leadership Academy based on executive management practices, and connections to investors via an investor forum and pitching sessions.
• Projects that graduate from the challenge and meet pre-agreed criteria are eligible for next-stage funding to be used for implementation and scaling over a 12-month period.

APA

Global Resilience Partnership (2023). Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) Challenge Guidelines for Applicants. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-guidelines-for-applicants_for-profits-2024-1.pdf

Chicago

Global Resilience Partnership. Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) Challenge Guidelines for Applicants. 2023. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-guidelines-for-applicants_for-profits-2024-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Resilience Partnership |title=Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) Challenge Guidelines for Applicants |date=10 December 2023 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-guidelines-for-applicants_for-profits-2024-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalresiliencepartnership2023resilient, author = {{Global Resilience Partnership}}, title = {{Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) Challenge Guidelines for Applicants}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rain-guidelines-for-applicants_for-profits-2024-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }