GAIN’s Marketplace for Nutritious Foods, Kenya: Inviting Applicants for 2018 First Innovation Accelerator Program

Deadline: 6 February 2018

The Marketplace for Nutritious Foods, Kenya is seeking applications for its 2018 First Innovation Accelerator program to support businesses that have the potential to increase the production and consumption of nutritious foods in the local market.

The Marketplace for Nutritious Foods is managed by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition with funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The goal of GAIN’s Marketplace for Nutritious Foods program is to increase the production, marketing, and availability of more safe and nutritious foods by promoting innovation and catalysing private sector engagement. It does this through improving access to knowledge, networks, technical assistance and funding by means of the following strategies:

A Community of Practice for knowledge and networking;
Innovation Accelerator to evaluate and provide advanced financial support and technical services to businesses showing the greatest potential for positive nutritional impact and business strength
Links eligible businesses with potential investors for further investment.

Award Information

Types of Awards: Business concepts submitted by local companies will be assessed on a competitive basis. Those selected for the Marketplace’s Innovation Accelerator programme will be eligible to receive one or both of the following types of support:

Technical assistance and training (typical award value: USD $5,000 to 20,000)
Financial grants (typical award value: up to $90,000)

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet all of the following criteria in order to be considered for support from the Marketplace:

Company is for-profit.
- Company may partner with other organisations, including non-governmental and governmental organisations; however, the lead applicant and implementer of the business concept must be a commercial company/business.
- Associations and cooperatives are also eligible to apply if they are functioning as businesses.
Company is a legally registered entity in Kenya (able to demonstrate a PIN number etc.).
Company must currently operate in Kenya.
Company is a financially viable business (i.e. the business model counts on sales revenues to cover all of the company’s expenses).
Proposal relates to an innovative business concept in nutritious agriculture. GAIN defines “Innovation” as a new or significantly improved product, service or business model, or an existing product, service or business model being introduced into a new market.
Applicant’s product or service should directly relate to one of the following value chains: Horticulture (fruits and vegetables), cereals, pulses, legumes, nuts and / or Livestock (dairy, meat, eggs and fish)
Implementation of the proposed business concept must emphasize a nutritional impact for Kenyan consumers.
- Business concepts with a primary focus on infrastructure or non-domestic/non-nutrition focused agricultural products (e.g., roads, exports) will not be considered for awards.
Proposed business concept will be implemented in Kenya.
Proposed business concept should use locally-sourced raw materials.