Sustainable Food Partnership

Investing in Impact

P4G provided this partnership with two rounds of catalytic grant funding – US $100,000 in 2018 start-up funding and US $500,000 in 2020 scale-up funding. 

The partnership aims to develop a commercially viable and scalable business model for a healthy, affordable biscuit. The expected outcome of SFP is twofold: improved nutrition and food security through the production of an affordable and nutritious snack targeting children and women; and income generation from production of local ingredients and sales to low-income consumers. The production demand will develop the local market and create more employment opportunities – including for women and unemployed youth. 

Sustainable Food Partnership finalized the second prototype of their nutritious biscuit in March 2022. Taking lessons learned from the first prototype, the partnership focused on the best chickpea flour for baking for the second batch. So far, target groups of women and children have provided positive feedback on the taste and nutritional value of the biscuit. Test results of the second prototype indicated that the protein level in the baking formula was marginally less (11.99%), so adjustments will be made to increase the level well beyond 12%.  

SFP aligns its work with Ethiopian national priorities on nutrition, including the need for fortified biscuit standards and an association for Ethiopian manufacturers to promote nutritional agendas. The partnership is also addressing barriers such as import of ingredients, foreign currency shortage, sugar shortage and tax issues that make widespread production and affordability more challenging.