The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), a Swiss-based foundation, launched in 2002 at the UN General Assembly to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. It has, therefore, called on women and youth-led agribusinesses, farmers associations, and cooperatives to apply for its Micro Grant Funding Opportunity.
This third edition of the Microgrant is a funding opportunity for nutritious food businesses with food products from Vitamin A Maize, Vitamin A Cassava, and Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato, operating in Kaduna, Benue, Nasarawa, and Oyo states.
Agribusinesses are vital to Nigeria’s economy, contributing significantly to employment generation, food security, and overall economic development. However, access to finance has been a persistent challenge for agribusinesses in the country, limiting their growth and potential impact.
One of the primary obstacles faced by agribusinesses in Nigeria is financing for innovative agribusiness solutions. High-interest rates offered by banks and other financial institutions among other factors are barriers for agribusinesses seeking loans in Nigeria. Through its Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples (SNiPS) Project, GAIN is seeking to provide an opportunity for over 40 nutritious food businesses to access micro-grant funding in Nigeria.
GAIN Micro-Grant Funding aims to fund nutritious food businesses operating in the Vitamin A Cassava, Vitamin A Maize, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato value chains in Kaduna, Benue, Nasarawa and Oyo States with equity-free grants to scale their businesses and support the commercialisation of nutrient-enriched food products in Nigeria. The microgrant programme will provide equity-free grants of N4,000,000 (Four million naira) each to 40 select businesses across the four project states.
To qualify to apply, the founder of the business or association must be 18 years of age or over as of September 2024 and must reside in Nigeria. Applicants must operate in the following target groups, “Food Processors, Farmer’s Associations or Cooperative Societies, Youth-led businesses and women-led businesses”.
Furthermore, the interested individual applicants must be operating businesses functioning in one of the value chains; Vitamin A Cassava, Vitamin A Maize, and Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato and must be registered with CAC, while group applicants must be registered with CAC, SMEDAN, or State Government as Cooperative Society.