Rikolto International s.o.n.
Rikolto International s.o.n.
14/08/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 14/08/2024 16:14
From start-up to nurturing innovation: empowering youth agrifood entrepreneurs in growing cities
Have you ever felt the anxiety of stepping out of your comfort zone? That's how people often feel when starting up a business. Perhaps you have seen an aspiring singer hesitate at the karaoke mic, and felt a sense of admiration and a desire to have the same courage? Young entrepreneurs with bold ideas face a similar obstacle - a lack of confidence to take the plunge.
This is what Generation Food is all about. It is a programme that seeks to unlock the potential of young agrifood entrepreneurs to accelerate the growth of their business or to make their ideas a reality. A reality that, in turn, pushes us to find creative solutions to critical global issues linked to our food systems.
The following insights come from an internal learning exchange that brought together colleagues in Rikolto from different regions working on youth food entrepreneurship.
Why agrifood start-ups?
Climate change is HERE. From unprecedented flooding affecting millions in Brazil to a drought in Sicily causing more than €1 billion in losses to farmers, its impact is undeniable.
Our current food production and distribution networks contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and freshwater stress. At the same time, cities are expanding rapidly and often struggling to absorb their growing population and provide them with adequate housing and transport infrastructure, basic health and education services and/or decent employment opportunities. Instead, we see new neighbourhoods springing up in areas that are highly vulnerable to natural disasters, in addition to more convenience stores, supermarkets and food chains that almost compete to see who can sell the crispiest and greasiest ready-to-eat chicken or pizza.
Earlier this year, the Netflix documentary "Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut" explored the often unseen role that food plays in our overall wellbeing, and also how the gut microbiome of urban dwellers is less diverse than that of their rural counterparts.
When it comes to finding solutions to the food system challenges facing cities, we need the passion, the creativity and the "question everything" attitude of young people. That is why we are tapping into this potential with Generation Food, an agrifood incubator which we have implemented in cities in Belgium, West Africa, East Africa and most recently Latin America.
Rikolto works hand in hand with local partners, reliant on their expertise and the support of funders such as the DOEN Foundation, the Gillès Foundation, the European Union, the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel), YOUCA and the Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD).
Solutions to urban food system challenges
The programme seeks to empower aspiring young entrepreneurs by strengthening their business skills, refining their ideas and facilitating connections with suppliers, funders and potential customers. Having a "nice" business idea is not enough: the programme is aimed at young companies that are genuinely responding to the concrete food needs of their urban and rural contexts.
For instance, limited access to organic fertiliser can hinder smallholder farmers interested in shifting to more sustainable production practices. In the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, a Generation Food participant Suluhu is addressing this gap by supplying organic fertiliser to farmers in Njombe. And Yummy Yummy, a women-owned business, is tackling another challenge - access to healthy food - by crafting delicious and nutritious vegetable and fruit cakes in Mbeya city.
Health is also an issue that young entrepreneurs are working on, Latifa Mougou, for example, a young woman in the Generation Food initiative in Ouagadougou, sells flour adapted to the health needs of diabetics.
Post-harvest losses and limited market access are also common problems in the food systems of the cities where we work. Start-ups such as Elite Wine, which uses surplus tomatoes to make wine, and Theo Silver, which creates valuable oil from reject avocados, can help give a second life to food products that would otherwise be lost or wasted.
Ssokoletu.com is another inspiring enterprise in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This B2C platform is sourcing products from 25 annual supplier contracts with peer Generation Food graduates, with more on the horizon in the cities of Goma and Bukavu. Sadiki Mukandamana, another Generation Food graduate, observed that the market shelves in Goma were completely dominated by low-quality imported beans. This inspired him to create "Madesu", a brand that supplies packaged, local and organic, standardised and ready-to-cook beans. Since 2023, Madesu has sold over 2,500 kg of beans!
How does Generation Food work?
Creativity thrives where "head" and "heart" work together. With this in mind, Rikolto and its partners seek to create a space where everyone feels respected, valued and listened to. A typical Generation Food trajectory offers a two-year programme that focuses on small and new businesses and supports them through these crucial stages:
Ready to pull back the curtain on different Generation Food trajectories? In each city, Generation Food seeks to respond to specific urban food system challenges and opportunities.
Burkina Faso: strengthening financial inclusion for disadvantaged entrepreneurs
In Burkina Faso the initiative specifically engaged youth, women and people with disabilities (PWDs).
Generation Food was first launched in Ouagadougou, and then as part of the Project for the Improvement of the Competitiveness of Rural and Urban Enterprises in the Centre-East Region and the Creation of Decent, Inclusive and Sustainable Jobs (PACE-DID).
Bernadette Ouattara Wininga, Rikolto's project coordinator, outlines the challenge: the lack of trust between entrepreneurs (especially women, youth and people with disabilities) and microfinance institutions (MFIs).