Africa Improved Foods receives first SDG Award

(Posted on 11/09/18)

The Swiss Green Economy Symposium (SGES) this year presented its first SDG Award to Africa Improved Foods (AIF). AIF Rwanda is a joint-venture between the Government of Rwanda and a consortium of Royal DSM, Dutch development bank (FMO), DFID Impact Acceleration Facility managed by CDC Group plc and International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. It is the leading manufacturer of high quality and nutritious complementary foods in Rwanda. DSM as the initiator and main shareholder thus contributes to creating a more sustainable food industry. This is also a goal of Bühler, which supplied the factory, the process technology, and the knowhow to Africa Improved Foods.

Africa Improved Foods (AIF) applies a new approach to fight malnutrition in Africa, promoting local production by directly buying farmers’ yields of maize and soy against cash at competitive prices. While the company has become largely known for its world class nutrition products including the commercial brands Nootri Mama, Nootri Toto and the latest Nootri Family (for all age groups), AIF mainly continues to produce porridge ﬂours (with added milk, vitamins and minerals) targeting vulnerable population segments such as pregnant and breast-feeding mothers, older infants and young children for the critical ﬁrst 1,000 days of their lives.

“We were impressed by the way in which Africa Improved Foods combines its social commitment with the successful networking of public and private players,” says Dr. Anne le Duc, CEO of SGES, upon announcing the first award-winner. “With our economic development model, we can make a strong and sustainable social impact on our entire environment, and this in a sustainable way,” says Amar Ali, CEO of Africa Improved Foods. On May 31, 2017, AIF opened its state-of-the-art facility in the Rwandan capital city of Kigali, where it produces an annual output of 45,000 tonnes of fortified blended foods. Its first two products are porridge flours with added milk powder, vitamins, and minerals. The factory employs over 300 staff and also offers 24,000 Rwandan farmers a stable, sustainable income for a proportion of their harvest. The factory recently celebrated its first anniversary and will soon have the capacity to feed 2 million people and be able to reduce stunting in Rwanda from 38% to 32% by 2020 – a 6% reduction – bringing hope to tens of thousands of children.