Deadline: 09 May, 2021
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Nigeria has announced a call for response proposals for the Covid-19 Food Security Challenge.
Nigeria is facing a food security crisis compounded by the covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has significantly disrupted already fragile value chains across the country, including people’s ability to produce, process, and distribute food.
The disruption to agricultural productivity and markets has a knock-on negative impact on livelihoods, especially among the most vulnerable households.
As part of the Feed the Future initiative, USAID Nigeria is seeking to partner with youth-led companies and mid-stage companies that are already working in food production, processing, and/or distribution.
USAID is requesting that these partners help farmers and other stakeholders in the food value chain increase agricultural productivity and food security within the next year to mitigate the effect of Covid-19 on Nigeria’s food value chain.
Benefits
- The challenge anticipates making $1.25 million available for 15–25 awards of $25,000 to $75,000 in funding and technical assistance for commercially viable, youth-led companies
- The challenge also anticipates making $1.75 million available for 10–15 awards of $75,000 to $150,000 in funding and technical assistance for mid-stage enterprises
Eligibility
- Open to registered for-profit companies that have a presence in Nigeria
- Challenge is open to all relevant companies regardless of size
- All applicants must be registered and authorised by the Nigerian government or have at least one registered Nigerian local partner
- All applicants must have a sustainable and financially viable business model for their innovation in the Nigerian food security value chain
- Mid-stage applicants must have existing services or products in the Nigerian food security value chain with 1,000, minimum, of existing customers
- Youth-led applicant must have a founder under the age of 29 at the time of application
- Applications must be written in English
To submit and for more information, click here.
Photo source: USAID in Africa