The Capricorn Foundation has announced the closing of entries for its Food Waste Challenge, saying 20 per cent of the 101 entries were submitted by teams and 80 per cent by individuals.

The majority of the submissions were from Namibia, but there were also submissions from South Africa, Botswana and Kenya.

The foundation called for innovative public solutions to reduce food waste in Namibia in order to help address the problem of food insecurity when it officially launched the Capricorn Foundation Food Waste Challenge at the end of June 2022.

Rikus Grobler, Capricorn Group’s Manager of Innovation and Challenge project coordinator, told Nampa on Wednesday that of the 101 entries, 19 are in the ‘Collecting’ Category, 15 are in the ‘Distributing’ Category, eight are in the ‘Storing’ Category, and 59 are in the ‘Other’ Category.

The winning solution will receive N.dollars 100 000 in prize money.

“The Capricorn Foundation sought ideas for reducing food waste in Namibia that would open up new avenues for addressing the basic need of food security for Namibia’s most vulnerable citizens, while also positively impacting society and improving the quality of life for many Namibians. The entries closed on 12 August and all submitted and completed proposals will be evaluated theoretically by an expert panel,” he stated.

Participants who entered the challenge can expect the first round of judging to conclude on 09 September 2022.

A shortlist will be created during this three-week process.

Round two will take place from 13 to 27 September 2022, and will include a panel of experts evaluating the shortlisted candidates.

The winning entry is expected to be announced on 07 October 2022.

Capricorn Foundation Executive Officer Marlize Horn said the foundation, through this challenge, set out to find original and impactful solutions for any part of the total value chain, from collecting food waste from sources and verifying suitability for human consumption, to the distribution of food to receivers/distributors, where it can be further used or distributed to beneficiaries.

“We are grateful for the overwhelming positive response to the challenge, which shows that many Namibians are committed to finding a solution to the problem of food waste. Identifying the winning solution is only the first step in a process that we hope will address food insecurity among society’s most vulnerable members,” Horn said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency