Applications are open NourishNext West Africa Youth Agri-Food Innovation Challenge 2026. NourishNext West Africa Youth Agrifood Innovation Challenge is a regional innovation challenge, led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in partnership with the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement and national implementing partners across Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal. The initiative is implemented with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
NourishNext identifies, supports, and accelerates youth-led innovations that strengthen nutritious fruit and vegetable value chains across West Africa. The Challenge seeks innovative solutions that improve how fruits and vegetables are processed, preserved, packaged, transported, marketed, distributed, purchased, prepared, and consumed, contributing to more resilient, inclusive, and nutrition-sensitive food systems.
The Challenge is open to young innovators aged 18 to 35 years, with the upper age limit extended to 40 years for women-led innovations. Applicants are invited to submit practical, scalable solutions that address some of the region’s most pressing agrifood challenges, including post-harvest losses, inadequate processing and storage, fragmented markets, limited access to nutritious foods, and weak consumer demand for fruits and vegetables.
To be eligible, innovations must have solutions that are beyond the idea stage and should have developed at least a functional prototype, proof of concept, or minimum viable product (MVP) or beyond, that demonstrates the feasibility of their solution. Purely conceptual ideas or designs without a demonstrated prototype will not be considered. Preference will be given to innovations that have been tested in real-world settings and show clear potential for scale and impact.
Selected innovators will receive USD 5,000 in seed funding, tailored technical mentorship from industry experts, capacity-building opportunities, and access to national and regional networking and showcasing platforms. Finalists will have the opportunity to present their innovations at the NourishNext West Africa Regional Showcase in Dakar, Senegal, in 2026, connecting with policymakers, investors, development partners, and private sector leaders.
Beyond the competition, NourishNext looks forward to building an innovation ecosystem that equips young entrepreneurs with the resources, partnerships, and visibility needed to scale impactful solutions. By fostering collaboration across countries and cohorts, the programme aims to cultivate the next generation of agrifood innovators driving healthier diets and more sustainable food systems across West Africa.
COMPETITION CATEGORIES
- Value addition and processing innovations that enhance fruit and vegetable value chains
- Innovations that enhance the availability, affordability, convenience, and appeal of fruits and vegetables through processing, preservation, fortification, packaging, and value-added product development.
- Integration of Local Produce of fruits and vegetables in Public Nutrition and Social Protection Systems
- Innovations that strengthen the integration of locally produced fruits and vegetables into public procurement and delivery systems, including school and institutional feeding programmes, social protection and safety net initiatives, cash and food assistance programmes, workplace canteens, livelihoods programmes, and other government-led nutrition interventions.
- Strengthened market and supply chain solutions for fruits and vegetables, that improve their supply, safety, and desirability
- Innovations that improve the efficiency, safety, resilience, and inclusiveness of fruit and vegetable supply chains, including production of products/services, aggregation, storage, transport, distribution, retail, and market linkages.
- Consumer Demand and Healthy Diet Behaviour Change for increased consumption of fruits and vegetables
- Innovations that encourage the consumption of healthier diets and increase demand for fruits and vegetables through behaviour change approaches, consumer engagement, digital technologies, marketing, education, and nutrition awareness initiatives.
NourishNext Youth Agri-Food Innovation Challenge Benefits
- SEED GRANT FINANCING
- All finalists receive a USD 5,000 seed grant, to further strengthen their innovation.
- EXPERT MENTORSHIP
- Winners will have access to a tailored mentorship program, pairing them with leading experts in nutrition, food systems, business development, finance and other relevant fields.
- CAPACITY BUILDING
- All semi-finalists onwards will participate in a structured capacity-building and mentorship programme designed to strengthen both the technical and commercial readiness of their innovations.
- REGIONAL VISIBILITY
- National winners showcase their innovations at the national and regional platforms of importance, in Dakar, Senegal supported by national and global media coverage.
- INVESTOR AND DEAL ROOM ACCESS
- Regional winners attend a structured mentorship session also at the Dakar regional finale with direct facilitated access to investors, buyers, and development partners for investment-ready pitches.
- ECOSYSTEM CONNECTIONS
- All finalists gain access to proposed GAIN’s Nutrition Connect regional platform, linkages to SBN, ECOWAS trade frameworks, school feeding networks, and international partners.
- MEDIA EXPOSURE
- Winning innovations will receive strategic visibility and communications support through GAIN and partner platforms as part of a dedicated storytelling and media engagement programme.
- POST-COMPETITION SUPPORT
- Winners receive a pathway into partners broader programme network.
- PEER RECOGNITION
- Finalists become part of a growing regional community of West African agrifood innovators, creating a long-term platform for peer learning, knowledge exchange, collaboration, and ecosystem engagement.
- LONG-TERM IMPACT
- Winners become part of a larger regional effort to improve nutrition and economic opportunity across West Africa.
Eligibility Criteria for NourishNext Youth Agri-Food Innovation Challenge
- Type of candidate
- Open to youth-led enterprises, set-ups, cooperatives with youth leadership, youth-led civil society organisations ec.
- Age
- The lead applicant for an applying solution, must be between 18 and 35 years. For leading women applicants, the eligibility age is relaxed to 40 years of age, at the time of application.
- Country and Location
- Applicants must be based in and primarily operating within one or more of the four eligible countries i.e. Benin, Nigeria, Senegal, or Cote d’Ivoire.
- Innovation Focus
- Your innovation must directly address at least one of the four competition categories outlined and must operate within or be directly supporting fruit and vegetable value chains.
- Proof of concept
- Formal business registration is not important. Solutions must however be at least Proof Of Concept stage and beyond.
- Gender Inclusion
- Women-led enterprises are strongly encouraged to apply. Additional scoring flexibility is available for women-led enterprises/ set-ups.
- Representation by Country
- The programme will select 15 semi-finalists and from them, 10 finalists, per country.
- Minimum Threshold For Application
- Application window is open from 8 July to 8 September 2026. The organizers may feel the need to extend the application window if necessary.
- Innovative Solution
- Make sure your solution has something innovative about it and is not just a superficial improvement over already existing products / services / platforms etc.
- General Conditions
- All applicants must carefully read, understand and accept the terms and conditions of the competition.
- Leadership
- Youth (18–35 years ; Or Women leads upto 40 years) must be the primary leader(s) and key decision-maker(s) of the solution applying.
Evaluation Criteria
All eligible applications will be evaluated using a standardized 100-point scoring framework to ensure a fair, transparent, and consistent assessment across all participating countries. Applications will be reviewed by independent evaluators against the following criteria:
- Innovation & Originality (20%)
- The extent to which the proposed solution introduces a novel, creative, or differentiated approach to addressing food systems and nutrition challenges.
- Nutrition Impact Potential (20%)
- The potential of the solution to improve the availability, affordability, accessibility, desirability, or consumption of nutritious foods, and contribute to improved nutrition outcomes.
- Business Model & Feasibility (20%)
- The strength and viability of the proposed business model, including its operational approach, implementation plan, and long-term sustainability.
- Scalability & Replicability (15%)
- The potential for the solution to grow, expand, and be replicated across different markets or contexts while maintaining its effectiveness and impact.
- Youth Leadership & Team Capacity (15%)
- The capability of the team to successfully implement and grow the innovation, including leadership, technical expertise, governance, and execution capacity.
- Inclusive Growth & Sustainability (10%)
- The extent to which the innovation promotes inclusive economic opportunities, particularly for young people and women, while contributing to environmentally sustainable food systems and generating positive social impact.
How To Apply for NourishNext Youth Agri-Food Innovation Challenge
Application Deadline: 8 September 2026
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