SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH SHARING

The corporate volunteers supporting African agribusinesses

Jeff Dykstra. Co-Founder & CEO, Partners in Food Solutions

Achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 – from improved nutrition to better access to quality jobs and economic growth – cannot be achieved without the support and involvement of the private sector.

Yet, in many parts of the world, businesses lack the resources and expertise needed to adopt the solutions that deliver greater economic, environmental, and social sustainability for their companies, communities and countries.

Addressing this challenge inspired the formation of Partners in Food Solutions (PFS), a non-profit which shares the technical expertise of some of the world’s largest food companies with local food processing businesses in Africa to improve the sustainability of food systems across the continent.

In an encounter at the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan pressed Ken Powell, then the CEO of food processor General Mills, to find a way for his company – one of the world’s largest agri-food multinationals –to be part of the solution in addressing food insecurity and nutritional challenges in Africa.

That conversation sparked the development of a program of “intellectual philanthropy” within General Mills, whereby corporate volunteers would remotely share their expertise and insight on specific projects for African food processors – from developing new products to meeting quality standards and assurance.

Before long, the model was expanded into an independent nonprofit, which is now backed by more of the world’s leading agrifood companies, including Ardent Mills, Bühler, Cargill, DSM, Hershey, and The J.M. Smucker Company.

The set-up allows food processing businesses across Africa to tap into the vast amounts of knowledge and experience represented by these multinational companies to address a range of local challenges, which hold back food, nutrition and economic security. Expertise provided by volunteers ranges from product development and manufacturing to marketing and finance.

Furthermore, the unique volunteering model of Partners in Food Solutions also contributes to greater sustainability for Africa’s burgeoning food processing sector across several key dimensions.

In the first instance, the model of intellectual philanthropy undertaken by PFS volunteers supports economic sustainability in Africa, ensuring growth in the agrifood sector is not outsourced to exporters, but is instead led by African companies to benefit Africans.

Through Partners in Food Solutions, companies can sustainably invest in upskilling and equipping the next generation of small businesses in emerging markets, and in particular, food processing companies, which will play a critical role in Africa’s future economic growth. Processed foods are forecast to make up 73 percent of African diets by 2040 yet the continent continues to import billions of dollars’ worth of food to meet demand.

Last year, PFS connected more than 700 volunteers with food companies in 12 countries across Africa, helping businesses to grow their profits while boosting nutritional and economic security across the continent.

On the ground, the organisation has also managed an apprenticeship program in Ghana that places recent graduates from food technology universities with client companies to gain hands-on experience and build capacity for local leadership. Some 41 percent of apprentices are subsequently hired by the client, and another 37 percent were hired by other local food processing companies.

Secondly, PFS volunteers have supported African food businesses to contribute towards greater social sustainability by addressing the burden of health challenges caused by malnutrition.

Micronutrient deficiency – or undernutrition – is known as “hidden hunger” and impacts millions, particularly across the African continent, with sometimes lifelong consequences. For example, an average of 40 percent of children under the age of five across sub-Saharan Africa face “stunting”, and the significant developmental consequences that result, due to malnutrition.

But volunteers from PFS member companies have been able to support African businesses to scale up food fortification to tackle nutritional deficiencies.

Volunteers at DSM, for example, supported Kenya’s Western Fresh Industries Limited to develop a laboratory and vitamin A fortification for edible oil. Vitamin A deficiency affects a third of all children under five, and almost half of those in Africa.

And experts from Cargill were among those to support Rwanda’s Le Palmier to put together the necessary documentation needed to fortify Cooperative Le Palmier’s palm oil and improve its operations and the safety of its product.

Palm oil is a staple ingredient used across Africa, which consumes significantly more palm oil than it produces, importing nearly 8 million tons of palm oil in 2020 to meet demand. Enhanced levels of vitamin A can help improve the quality of diets in a cost effective and widespread manner through food fortification.

Finally, the PFS volunteering model offers corporate partner companies a way to invest in the sustainability of their own businesses by offering new and rewarding experiences for their employees.

Supporting staff participation in volunteer programs can open the door for greater career and personal growth in-house. Last year, satisfaction among volunteers was more than 90 percent, while General Mills reported that 78 percent of its volunteers developed new or improved skills through volunteering with PFS.

For example, General Mills R&D Scien- tist Hannah Schwebach was connected by PFS to Graceco Industries, a Nigerian food processing company that was facing challenges with a new product formulation for baby food causing an unwanted sour taste and viscosity.

In addition to improving the new product line for Graceco Industries’ customers, the volunteering opportunity also afforded Hannah the opportunity to work with sorghum, a crop that features widely in African foods, with which she had little previous experience.

Volunteering opportunities allow employees the opportunity to develop leadership and project management skills by working alongside client companies to diagnose and address food processing challenges.

Businesses of all shapes, sizes, and geographies hold the potential to contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals – yet not all are operating on an equal playing field with the same access to expertise and resources.

The unique volunteering model pioneered by Partners in Food Solutions ensures that the expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading food and agribusinesses can be drawn on to deliver longterm impact for sustainability in traditionally underserved regions, to the benefit of people and planet.

Partners in Food Solutions is a consortium of seven food industry businesses – General Mills, Cargill, DSM, Bühler, The Hershey Company, Ardent Mills, and The J.M. Smucker Company – working together to provide technical and business expertise to entrepreneurial food companies in Africa.