TNFD, CXL and UNDP Name Three Winners of Nature Intelligence Grand Challenge for 300 Million SMEs

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, Conservation X Labs and the United Nations Development Programme have announced the three winners of the Nature Intelligence for Business Grand Challenge, a global competition designed to catalyse affordable nature-related tools for small and medium-sized enterprises. The winners are Dunya Analytics from the United States, Mozaic Earth from the United Kingdom and Space Eagle Enterprises from South Africa. The Grand Challenge addresses a critical gap in the global nature intelligence ecosystem, which has so far primarily served large corporations and financial institutions despite SMEs representing approximately 90 percent of businesses worldwide.

 

What Nature Intelligence Means for Business

 

Nature intelligence refers to the ability to identify, assess and respond to nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities, and is increasingly recognised as an essential new component of business intelligence, strategy and resilience. As biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and water stress accelerate globally, companies face growing exposure to physical and transition risks linked to nature. Investors, regulators and customers are increasingly demanding that this exposure be measured, disclosed and managed in the same way climate-related risks have been over the past decade.

SMEs typically have significantly less budget, capacity and expertise to access the nature intelligence solutions designed for large corporations and global financial institutions. This gap leaves the vast majority of the global business population without practical tools to assess and respond to nature-related issues, despite SMEs collectively representing a substantial share of overall economic impact on natural systems. Closing this gap is essential to the broader credibility and effectiveness of nature-positive business strategies.

 

The Three Winning Solutions

 

Dunya Analytics of the United States operates a platform designed to help customers identify nature-associated vulnerabilities and prioritise investments accordingly. The solution is aimed at translating complex nature-related data into actionable insights that smaller businesses can use to inform operational and capital allocation decisions. By focusing on vulnerability identification and investment prioritisation, the platform addresses two of the most practical questions facing SMEs as they begin to engage with nature-related issues.

Mozaic Earth of the United Kingdom has developed a platform that allows SMEs to collect data using their smartphones and produce site-level ecosystem condition analysis. The smartphone-based data collection approach significantly lowers the barriers to participation in nature assessment processes, removing the need for specialist hardware or expert consultants. Space Eagle Enterprises of South Africa is developing products for broadband connectivity and next-generation Earth-observation intelligence aimed at governments, enterprises and communities across Africa. The combination of connectivity and satellite-derived data has particular relevance for businesses operating in regions with limited terrestrial monitoring infrastructure.

 

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The Selection Process and Field Testing

 

The three winners were chosen from a pool of 12 Challenge Finalists announced on 25 February following a rigorous selection process involving written submissions from over 380 applicants. The applicant pool spanned 46 countries and was evaluated by an international advisory panel of experts with experience across nature-related disclosure, technology development and SME engagement. The breadth of the application pool reflects rising global interest in developing practical nature intelligence solutions for smaller businesses.

The 12 Challenge Finalists subsequently participated in a two-month user testing and performance evaluation phase, working directly with SMEs to conduct preliminary nature assessments aligned with the TNFD LEAP approach. Over 20 SMEs across 13 countries helped test the proposed solutions by applying them to their business operations across multiple sectors and geographies. This field-testing component was central to identifying solutions that genuinely deliver value to SME users rather than simply meeting technical performance benchmarks.

 

Alignment with the TNFD LEAP Approach

 

The Grand Challenge has been deliberately structured to support solutions aligned with the TNFD's LEAP assessment approach, which provides a standardised methodology for identifying nature-related issues. LEAP stands for Locate, Evaluate, Assess and Prepare, and structures how organisations engage with nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. By anchoring the Challenge to LEAP, the organisers have helped to ensure that emerging SME-focused tools generate outputs consistent with the broader corporate disclosure framework.

This alignment is significant because it allows SME data and insights to potentially feed into the broader nature intelligence ecosystem used by their corporate customers and financial partners. As large companies extend their value chain due diligence and supply chain assessment, having SME suppliers equipped to provide comparable nature-related information becomes increasingly important. Standardised methodologies create the foundation for the data flows needed to support credible nature-related disclosure across the corporate ecosystem.

 

Strategic Significance for the Nature Disclosure Movement

 

Tony Goldner, Chief Executive Officer of TNFD, said that since the organisation's launch five years ago, companies, investors and other capital providers have become increasingly aware that the resilience of their business depends on the resilience of nature. He highlighted that a vibrant ecosystem of data and analytics solutions has emerged to serve big business and global financial institutions, with the Grand Challenge specifically designed to catalyse solutions for the world's 300 million SMEs that have limited budget, time and capacity. The competition's reach indicates that there is substantial entrepreneurial appetite to address this segment.

The TNFD has built a global movement of support and action that includes over 730 organisations and more than $22 trillion in assets under management committed to reporting their nature-related issues aligned with TNFD recommendations published in September 2023. The recommendations build on the approach pioneered by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and are aligned with the impact standards of the Global Reporting Initiative, the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the sustainability reporting standards of the International Sustainability Standards Board.

 

Support Provided to Winners and Finalists

 

In addition to a $20,000 solution grant each, the Challenge winners will receive ongoing technical support and advisory services from the organisers, partners and the Advisory Group in the coming months. The continued engagement is designed to identify new opportunities for funding and piloting to scale up access to nature intelligence tools for SMEs. Other promising Finalists will also benefit from continued involvement in the network, expanding the pool of solutions available to the SME market over time.

Maxim Vergeichik, Senior Nature Economist at UNDP, said that nature-positive business is no longer a future ambition but a growing reality fundamental to how businesses of all sizes manage risk and create value. He emphasised UNDP's commitment to ensuring that SMEs have access to affordable, practical tools that enable them to understand their dependencies on nature, strengthen resilience and contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive economy. The framing positions SME engagement with nature as integral to broader economic transition rather than as a niche sustainability concern.

 

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Implications for the Corporate Nature Agenda

 

The Grand Challenge winners and other Finalists represent the early infrastructure for a broader expansion of nature intelligence into the SME segment, mirroring the trajectory that climate-related tools have followed over the past decade. As mandatory disclosure frameworks expand and corporate value chains face deeper scrutiny, the availability of affordable, practical tools for SMEs will become increasingly important. The next phase of nature-related disclosure will likely depend significantly on how effectively these tools scale across global markets.

The progression of the Grand Challenge also reflects growing institutional support for nature-related risk management as a parallel discipline to climate risk. Investor, regulatory and customer pressure on nature-related issues is expected to continue intensifying through the second half of the decade. Companies that can demonstrate credible nature-related strategies, supported by appropriate intelligence tools, will be better positioned to manage emerging risks and capture opportunities linked to nature-positive transition.

 

Outlook for SME Nature Intelligence

 

The combination of growing market demand, advancing technology and concerted institutional support is creating favourable conditions for the rapid development of SME-focused nature intelligence tools. Whether the winning solutions can scale effectively will depend on continued investment, partnership development and the trajectory of broader nature-related disclosure requirements. Sustained progress would help close the substantial gap between large company and SME engagement with nature-related issues.

The Grand Challenge represents an important milestone in democratising access to nature intelligence and reinforces the broader trajectory of nature-positive business as a mainstream concern. As more SMEs adopt practical tools to assess and manage their dependencies on nature, the foundation for credible value chain disclosure and supply chain transformation will strengthen significantly. The next few years will determine whether the early momentum translates into widespread adoption across global SME populations.

 

Source: Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)