Africa-Press – Tanzania. FIVE local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) focusing on nutrition-sensitive businesses were recently selected to receive further support and exposure from different stakeholders, including prospective investors.
The businesses were selected through Lishe Accelerator investor-ready programme held in Dar es Salaam and was organized by GAIN Tanzania and Sahara Ventures.
According to Lishe Accelerator Project Manager, Abbas Sykes, the selected teams are part of a project to nurture nutrition-sensitive SMEs which started in early December 2020 and lasted for 5 months until late April 2021.
“The peak was the investor-ready programme which aims at exposing SMEs to different stakeholders including financial institutions, hub managers, and SMEs from the like-minded sector who were invited and attended the event,” he said.
He added that the benefits of the post acceleration support to the SMEs would not only be limited to linking with experts but will also involve receiving guidance on how to manage books, prepare and execute branding and marketing strategies and generally improve their business models.
The selected businesses include Bionutra which produces science-based nutritious natural products from local ingredients for local and export markets, and ALOHADO which produces organic food spices rich in various minerals and vitamins to help the body prevent and manage non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Others are Luke Tanzania Limited, producing beetroot paste that offers a high source of iron and folate mostly to pregnant women; Sai Diary, a Zanzibar SME producing milk and yoghurt to improve nutrition in the Isles; and Adeck Juice which produces fresh, healthy and affordable meal options.
The nutrition SMEs are touted as more than just businesses as they also seek to combat nutrition-related NCDs. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 33 per cent of deaths worldwide are due to NCDs.
A Ministry of Health report also notes that both local and international scientific evidence shows that the rising burden of disease attributable to NCD is at the moment surpassing that of infectious diseases.
GAIN has been present in Tanzania since 2010 and got registered in 2015 with a focus primarily on areas that rely on its deep understanding of the nutritious food value chains and food systems in the country.
It has been involved in many nutrition interventions such as SUN Business network, Vegetables for all, a marketplace for nutritious foods, food fortification, deepening nutrition governance, urban governance for nutrition, and commercialization of biofortified crops.
Sahara Ventures (SV) is a group of companies with a mission to build a strong innovation and technology entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa.
The company consists of Sahara Consulting, Sahara Accelerator, and Sahara Sparks.
Sahara Ventures has vast experience in running accelerator and investor-readiness programs for startups and SMEs.
