The OGCCC aimed to identify and reward the most appropriate technologies for off-grid cold storage, and by promoting the technologies and their associated business models, stimulate appropriate support from donors, investors and government.
The ‘cold chain’ describes how the temperature of perishable products is managed to maintain their quality and safety throughout the supply chain from where they are harvested or slaughtered to where they are consumed. Cold chains play a critical role in reducing food loss and increasing food supplies, but in developing countries, they are either fragmented or do not exist.
Ideas to Impact is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to test whether innovation inducement prizes can stimulate innovative solutions to longstanding development challenges for low-income households. The OGCCC made its final prize awards in November 2019 and shortly afterwards, Itad (as Ideas to Impact’s Evaluation & Learning Team) carried out a review to understand if participating in the prize stimulated innovation among the participants. The review also explored:
- What value the OGCCC offered compared to the broader system of interventions in the sector?
- What effect post-award activity aimed at raising awareness had among key stakeholders of off-grid cold storage?
- What has been learned from the experiences of the OGCCC participants in implementing their business models?
