The Good Food Innovation Fund awards $1 million for healthy food across Sub-Saharan Africa. Seven businesses that are transforming the accessibility and affordability of “good food” in low-income communities in Kenya and Rwanda have been chosen by the Good Food Innovation Fund (GFIF) to receive money and technical support for business expansion. For this inaugural request for applications, GFIF got 144 submissions.
The selection process concentrated on small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) having a strong interest in promoting wholesome, environmentally friendly, and fairly produced and distributed food, or “good food,” through institutional feeding programmes at schools and other institutions. The funding for the seven SMEs will range from $100,000 to $200,000 each, for a total of more than $1 million.
Agri Farmer Centre Ltd. (Agriface) and Muteesa Company Ltd. in Rwanda, as well as Fibered Fresh Partners, Keep It Cool, Sanku Kenya Ltd., Shalem Investments, and Smart Logistics Solutions in Kenya, are recipients.
With a $5 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, GFIF was established in 2021 and is currently run by Intellecap Advisory Services.
According to Rockefeller Foundation vice president Mehrdad Ehsani, “African enterprises have a key role to play in ensuring that people, especially in low-income communities, have access to nutritious and inexpensive food.” Supporting them will boost productivity along the food supply chain, lower production costs, boost their competitiveness, and make it possible for them to provide nutrient-dense food to low-income populations.
In October 2022, the Good Food Innovation Fund will open its second innovation call. In addition to covering Ghana and Benin, this call will focus on innovations in vertically integrated value chains with distribution and retail, harvest and post-harvest, processing, distribution, and logistics.
