A total of $500,000 is available for up to eight selected solutions. Of the $500,000 in funding, $100,000 is available for up to four early-stage solutions and $400,000 is available for up to four growth-stage solutions. The cohort of selected winners will receive support programming through the WFP Innovation Accelerator to continue testing and building out their solutions. 

Solutions should be appropriately designed for use in low- and middle-income countries. 

Anyone, anywhere around the world can submit a solution to this Challenge. Applicants can be an individual, a team, or an organization. Solutions can be any type of organization, including but not limited to non-profit, for-profit, or hybrid organizations. However, US law prevents MIT Solve from awarding funds to persons ordinarily resident in Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea, or Crimea and to parties subject to economic sanctions by the US Treasury Department.

Early-stage solutions include:

• Concept: An idea being explored for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model based on that idea. 

• Prototype: A solution or organization that is building and testing its product, service, or business model. If for-profit, a new company getting off the ground that has raised little or no institutional capital (less than $500,000) in pre-seed fundraising.

• Pilot: A solution or organization that is deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community. If for-profit, a young company that is working to gain traction and that has raised less than $2 million in institutional capital in seed funding.

Growth stage solutions include:

• Growth: A solution or organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth in multiple communities or countries. If for-profit, an early-stage company that has established a track record and is seeking to raise a round of roughly $2 million to $15 million in institutional capital in a Series A or potentially B round.

• Scale: A solution or organization that is working in several communities or countries. It is looking to scale significantly, focusing on increased efficiency. If for-profit, a successful company that is scaling its operations and seeks to raise a round of more than $15 million in institutional capital.