The Aquaculture Innovation Challenge, a competition designed to encourage innovation in Vietnam’s aquaculture sector, has named five finalists for its 2017 awards, which include a minimum cash prize of VND 250 million (USD 11,000, EUR 9,800).
The contest is being run by the Seafood Trade Intelligence Portal (STIP), Solidaridad, and Fresh Studio, with support from the governments of Vietnam and the Netherlands, as well as several banks and companies involved in the seafood trade in Vietnam.
The finalists, which were chosen by an impartial jury, include:
- Entobel, a firm that produces fish feed from insects fed with byproducts from Vietnam’s food industry;
- Green Solutions, which is producing a natural antioxidant preservative (NAP) extracted from avocado seeds that can replace current commercial additives such as sodium metabisulfite and sulfur dioxide, which are used to preserve shrimps;
- ShrimpVet, which is making the technical value chain of shrimp farming more accessible to Vietnamese farmers;
- Verifik8, a new mobile monitoring and verification software platform designed to give seafood more assurances to buyers in their seafood procurements;
- Wind-powered aeration; a new low-cost, easily maintainable pond aeration system with a low environmental impact.
The five finalists have advanced to the AIC boot camp taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in September 2017, where they will receive hands-on assistance with developing their business models and perfecting their pitches. Coaches from the fields of business, finance, science, and civil society will provide professional guidance to the finalists, according to a press release.
Following the boot camp, the competition’s jury will choose the winner of the AIC’s Impact Prize, which will be awarded to the project with the most potential impact on the development of Vietnam’s aquaculture industry.
All finalists will be given access to selected industry investors, financial institutes, and donors, and in addition, “a matchmaking component will be introduced to get the best innovations connected to the right organizations for maximizing the potential of the proposals,” according to the AIC release.
