13 SMEs featuring Africa win big

Thirteen small- and medium-sized businesses in Africa and the Middle East won the “Good Food for All” competition, held with the UN Food Systems Summit (FSS).
Winners were selected based on how their business contributes to healthier, sustainable and equitable food access in their respective regions, their vision for the future, and their ability to communicate the current and future impacts of their business. Almost 2,000 applications from 135 countries were evaluated as part of the competition. Winners will receive USD$100,000 in cash prizes.
“Small businesses are the hidden heroes of our food systems,” said Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the 2021 FSS Dr. Agnes Kalibata. “We must understand the challenges they face and work together to ensure they remain at the heart of efforts to improve the future of food.”
The thirteen winners located in Africa and the Middle East are part of a 50-company set of global winners. Half of the 50 global winners are youth-led and another half are women-led.
Among the winners was TruLuv, a women-led, women-managed, majority women-employee granola company based in Ethiopia.
“Through our work, we seek to create a sustainable food system that supports health and environmental protection,” said TruLuv CEO Blayne Tesfaye.
The results of the competition were released with a new report by the UN outlining three critical steps to support small businesses; creating more conducive business environments, offering more positive incentives, and empowering small business leaders to have greater influence in sector planning.