Many of you have heard us wax poetic about our collaborations with The Roddenberry Foundation on the +1:WASH fund, a novel approach to identify and support outstanding community-led non-profits and social enterprises by partnering with local expert nominators. Awardees from each round then become nominators for the next round. Taking the lessons learned from +1:WASH and the other +1 Global funds that Roddenberry has developed, we’re at it again!
The +1 Global Food Security fund has just completed its first round, where we’ve identified 14 fantastic awardees with grants, capacity development, and training. Per the +1 methodology, these awardees will participate in the nomination process for future rounds of awardees.
If you are a funder and would like to learn more about how +1 works, how you can run your own +1, or would like to learn more about the organizations we’ve supported to enhance your own pipeline, please reach out to us and Roddenberry!
The very first cohort of Awardees was selected for support by the +1 Global Fund for Food Security. Hailing from across 7 countries—Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda, all 14 Awardees are making significant strides in improving food access and resilience.
Whether through a for-profit or non-profit model, each Awardee is implementing a multi-faceted approach that is tailored to the last-mile communities it serves. +1 Food Security’s member funders, the Roddenberry, Sall Family, Shockwave, Schooner, and Tarsadia Foundations, are excited to contribute to the Awardees’ efforts.
+1 Food Security launched in 2022 to support locally-led, earlier-stage organizations that are improving food security across Sub-Saharan Africa. With the help of our Network Partners, and their recommended Nominators, dozens of organizations were nominated for +1 support. With the help of expert evaluators, 14 were selected due to their impact track record, ambition, organizational capabilities, and potential to benefit from +1 support.
We invite you to learn more about these organizations and their work below, or through the +1 Food Security Awardee Directory.
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O7 Foods works with smallholder farmers in Nigeria, providing them with financial and advisory support and safe post-harvest processing, with the aim of ensuring a safe and secure food supply that protects and improves public health, while decreasing food loss and waste through more efficient distribution systems.
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Agro and More Agribusiness Developers Ltd works with local farming communities in Uganda to supply farm inputs and provide extension services with the aim of contributing to increased food security amidst a changed climate while protecting the environment and creating employment opportunities.
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AugustSecrets Nigeria Limited reduces post harvest loss in Nigeria by processing excess into highly nutritious, affordable, and tasty cereals & snacks to reduce the high rate of child malnutrition and poverty in Africa.
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Cato Foods and Agroallied Global Concepts supports smallholder farmers in Nigeria to grow high yielding, nutrient rich, drought resistant crop varieties. They also provide access to soft finance by forming farming clusters and cooperative groups, creating access to markets for smallholder farmers to reduce post-harvest losses, and processing staple crops into food products which are bio-fortified with Vitamin A.
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Ecotutu is solving the problem of lack of access to affordable and reliable cold storage for small and medium business in the agriculture value chain in Nigeria by providing 100% solar-powered cold rooms, extending the shelf life of perishable goods and reducing post-harvest loss.
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Guzakuza is creating an ecosystem for women in agribusiness in Africa by providing training, coaching, mentorship, internship, access to market and business advisory services.
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M-Shamba is solving several of Kenya’s food system challenges, low farm productivity, market access, and food losses, by leveraging data-driven digital tools that support decision-making of agriculture value chain actors, and provide market intelligence and linkage services to smallholder farmers.
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MVIWATA Morogoro works in rural areas of Kenya to promote adoption of agroecology farming practices to improve drought resistance and management of the ecosystem.
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Network for the Fight Against Hunger (RELUFA) addresses food insecurity in the Far North Sahel Region of Cameroon by developing a community cereal bank to ensure food is available year-round.
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Peoples Development Organisation in Bo in Southern Sierra Leone (PDO) provides education on malnutrition, instruction on modern farming methods to increase food production, and has developed Mothers Clubs to engage women in crop production.
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Schools and Colleges Permaculture Programme (SCOPE) Kenya strengthens and connects those working with schools on sustainable land use, agroecology and the production of nutritious food.
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Seed Savers Network – Kenya has established a training centre that focuses on training in agroecology, Community Seed Banking, and advocacy to ensure the continued use of local indigenous crops.
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Sengwer Berur Women addresses land degradation caused by poor farming techniques. As an indigenous female led organization, it is applying indigenous knowledge to teach youth how to produce indigenous food and practice agroforestry.
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Soilless Farm Lab (a.k.a. Eupepsia Place Limited) uses greenhouse farming, hydroponics and aquaponics and artificial intelligence in their irrigation for precision-based farming. Their aim is to maximize production without harming the environment and eliminate postharvest loss.