O-Farms is a business accelerator program with the goal of making circularity a mainstream approach for improved rural livelihoods and sustainability
IKEA Foundation
Village Capital
Inclusive Business Empowerment
Circular Economy
Nutrition and Agriculture
Kenya
Uganda
2021 to 2023
The demand for food products in East Africa is steadily increasing. At the same time, the current footprint of food production is getting too high compared to the finite resources the planet possesses for the production of food. This calls for a shift from a linear approach to food production to a circular approach. The adoption of circular approaches to food production however is going slow.
We believe that the driving force to change this lies with food producing SMEs, who produce most of the food. When we can inspire and capacitate this group to work in an innovative way on circular food production, we believe we can contribute to making circularity a mainstream approach to food production in East-Africa. This will not only make food production in the region future-proof, it will also create new economic opportunities for the private sector.
An initiative of the O-Farms project built to inspire entrepreneurs, investors and others in the circular agribusiness ecosystem with real-world examples of companies making food and other useful products out of food waste and by-products from food production. Put your circular ideas and ambitions in the blender and get inspired!
The Circular Toolkit by O-Farms provides a set of six practical tools developed for agri-SMEs, entrepreneur support organisations (ESOs), and other practitioners working with circular agribusinesses in low-income markets. The tools support SMEs in finding inspiration for circular product development, assessing their circularity level, discovering opportunities to enhance their circularity, amplify their impact, and increase their revenue.
Making the most of food! We will call upon local SMEs to think of new ways to valorise agribusiness waste streams in such a way that they make economic sense and bring back essential nutrients at the highest possible level of utilisation. Think of whey being used to increase the nutritional value of yoghurt drinks or creating new food products from rice husks and rice bran.
In Kenya and Uganda we will gather deep insights into the state of circular agribusiness
Based on these insights, together with 40 SMEs we will define how they can strengthen their circular agribusiness proposition
With the 40 SMEs we will develop and implement action plans on how best they can bring their circular agribusiness proposition to life and make it scale
Ultimately, these 40 SMEs will deliver game-changing new business models for circular agribusiness.
What are we learning? (November 2022, Learning Note)
Our study into the circular agribusiness potential of Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. To access our research reports and factsheet, follow the link below.
A general overview on the O-Farms program. To download a copy, follow the link below.