Bridging the Cold Chain Gap Challenge

The opportunity is offered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through its innovation challenge platform.

Grant Objective

The challenge aims to identify and pilot innovative technologies that can provide affordable cooling and preservation solutions for last-mile fruit and vegetable vendors in India.

The purpose is to reduce post-harvest losses, protect vendor incomes, improve food quality, and strengthen resilience in India’s urban and informal food-distribution systems.

Key Focus Areas

The challenge is particularly interested in solutions related to:

• Affordable cold-chain technologies
• Cooling and preservation systems
• Fresh fruit and vegetable storage
• Reduction of post-harvest losses
• Street-vendor livelihoods
• Energy-efficient cooling
• Climate-friendly technology
• Last-mile food supply chains
• Market-access improvement
• Scalable technology solutions

Geographic Focus

The challenge is specifically focused on India.

Solutions should be capable of being piloted with last-mile fruit and vegetable vendors and should be appropriate for Indian market conditions.

Eligible Applicants

The call is particularly relevant for:

• Technology companies
• Start-ups
• Social enterprises
• Innovation organisations
• Research and technology institutions
• Consortia with appropriate technical capacity

Applicants should be able to demonstrate a practical solution that can be tested and validated in a real-world setting.

Grant Amount

Selected pilot projects can receive funding of up to:

US$450,000 per pilot project

A 10% co-financing contribution is required from the selected applicant.

Important Project Requirements

Proposed solutions should:

• Address cooling or preservation challenges faced by fruit and vegetable vendors
• Be affordable for last-mile users
• Have potential for practical deployment
• Demonstrate technical feasibility
• Reduce food losses
• Protect or improve vendor incomes
• Have the potential to scale
• Be suitable for implementation in India

Additional Benefits

Selected applicants will also receive:

• Opportunity to pilot and validate the technology in India
• Collaboration with ADB
• Connections with Indian and international stakeholders
• Visibility among governments, investors, and development partners
• Opportunity to demonstrate measurable social and economic impact

Application Process

Stage 1 – Concept Note

Applicants must first register and submit an innovative solution through the ADB challenge platform.

Concept Note Deadline: 18 September 2026

Stage 2 – Full Application and Pitch

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a detailed application and pitch their proposed pilot.

Full Application Period: 21 September – 30 October 2026

Selection

ADB expects to select approximately 1–2 proposals.

Selected technology providers are expected to be announced around December 2026 / January 2027.

Pilot implementation is expected to begin in January 2027.

Relevance for India

This is a particularly strong opportunity for Indian organisations working on agri-tech, food systems, livelihoods, urban development, refrigeration, renewable energy, cold-chain infrastructure, street-vendor livelihoods, and climate-smart technologies.

For an NGO, the strongest approach would likely be to participate in a consortium with a technology provider, where the NGO contributes expertise in community mobilisation, vendor engagement, implementation, training, monitoring and evaluation.