SDG Agrifood Accelerator Programme
The FAO SDG Agrifood Accelerator Programme supported select small and medium sized enterprises from low-income countries in developing their businesses while accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Programme demonstrates how, with the right support, local innovators can reach their business targets while significantly contributing to accelerating SDG implementation in their local context.
The participating enterprises were deeply purpose-driven, with business models designed to promote environmental sustainability, as well as local economic and social development. These businesses placed significant emphasis on creating positive impacts within their communities, with particular focus on empowering women and marginalized groups. By addressing these critical areas, they can effectively advance multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) simultaneously. Their commitment actively contributed to a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future for both the environment and the local populations they served. Through their efforts, they demonstrated a strong alignment with broader global goals while fostering meaningful change on the ground.
To support their growth and impact, the SDG Agrifood Accelerator Programme provided them a comprehensive toolkit of resources and personalized one-on-one mentoring. This tailored guidance helped them refine their strategies and scale up their operations effectively. In particular, they received support in developing critical business elements such as investment strategies, marketing approaches, and financial plans, to help strengthen their market development, expand diversification efforts, and drive innovation.
In parallel, the Programme introduced a methodology for tracking and assessing the enterprises' social and environmental impacts, ensuring that their contributions aligned with the SDGs. This framework empowered the businesses to measure and enhance their sustainability efforts, demonstrating accountability and transparency in their progress.
Furthermore, the Programme facilitated opportunities for these enterprises to broaden their networks and share best practices. Through peer-learning workshops and networking events, participants connected with like-minded innovators and experts, fostering collaborations that further can further strengthen their growth trajectories and increase their potential for lasting impact. This holistic approach ensured that the enterprises not only had the tools and expertise to scale, but also the relationships and networks to sustain and expand their efforts over time.
The Programme was implemented with the technical support of SEED.
FAO SDG Agrifood Accelerator Programme
Learn more about the eleven SMEs who joined the programme:
![]() | AfriLeap produces and supplies hydroponically grown quality hop cones. It empowers local smallholder farmers and saves land and water as hydroponics need less land to grow plants than traditional farming methods. |
![]() | Amaati empowers rural women through farming indigenous Fonio grains. Fonio has low water requirements and can withstand adverse weather conditions. The social enterprise works with over 2000 farmers and dries, de-husks, packages, stores and markets Fonio cereal products for household consumption. |
![]() | FAM Organic delivers fresh produce and a new urban farming concept, the urbanutrigarden, to its eco-farming partners and customers. Urbanutrigarden is an integrated store concept to promote organic urban farming, healthy lifestyles and a sustainable environment to urban households. |
![]() | Farmers Fresh Zone improves food traceability, supporting rural farmers in good agricultural practices. By collecting and selling local produce through a shortened value chain, the enterprise ensures transparency over how food is produced and sold. The produce is marketed through multiple channels, including a website, stores, stalls, and a subscription service. |
![]() | Gorilla Conservation Coffee pay a premium price to help coffee farmers living next door to the gorillas around the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. This business keeps farmers from resorting to damaging the forest through activities like poaching and removing resources like wood, and in turn, helps protect the gorillas and their habitat. |
![]() | Kalahari Honey operates a beekeeping business to mitigate human and wildlife conflict, feed more families, create jobs and build sustainable communities. They train and supply farmers with beehives to use as ‘active’ fences to prevent elephants from destroying their farms. The farmers then sell bee products back to Kalahari, who market these commodities globally. |
![]() | ListenField applies scientific principles and climate data to analyze all relevant factors of rice production. The enterprise provides precision farming solutions that can cut field operation costs and provide a detailed outlook for yield prediction building on AI-Assisted Multispectral Vision and Crop Modeling Technology. |
![]() | Mooto Cashew provides hybrid cashew tree seedlings with an early maturity period and very high yield to farmers in the Western province of Zambia, which is highly affected by deforestation caused by charcoal burning. The reforested area enhances the region’s ecosystem and provides a viable livelihood alternative to its communities. |
![]() | Rahsa Nusantara showcases Indonesian heritage beverages that benefit people and the planet. Engaging a network of organic female farmers in a circular production and packaging process, they are producing healthy ready-to-drink products promoting a healthy and environmental-friendly lifestyle. |
![]() | Wuchi Wami packages, brands, markets and distributes local raw and organic honey for health-conscious clients. The honey is sourced from the wild miombo forests in the Mwinilunga Northwestern province of Zambia. It is processed through its registered cooperative which sees 2,500 farmers participating in beekeeping in an out-growers scheme model. |
![]() | Yoddoi sells organic single-origin Arabica coffee grown in the Doi Chaang area of northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province. It promotes organic farming amongst Akha hill tribe, a small group of coffee growers, and creates a farmers' satisfaction price to generate sustainable income for farmers. |