HealthyDiets4Africa Agribusiness Accelerator Cohort III: Opportunities for Kenyan Youth and Women Innovators

Are you a young person or woman in Kenya with a fresh idea to improve food systems? The HealthyDiets4Africa Agribusiness Accelerator Program Cohort III invites youth and women agri-innovators to apply by March 22, 2026. Funded by the European Union through Food Security for Peace and Nutrition Africa (FSPN-Africa), this program helps scale innovations that transform food production and access. Top participants can win $5,000 awards plus business training and mentorship. This article covers the program’s goals, benefits, who qualifies, and how to apply.

FSPN-Africa runs this accelerator as part of the HealthyDiets4Africa Project. It focuses on youth and women in Kenya, with priority for counties like Makueni, Nairobi, Kitui, Machakos, Kiambu, Kajiado, and Murang’a. The program builds skills through online learning, hands-on training, expert advice, and links to partners. It aims to make your agri-nutrition ideas ready for investors and wider markets.

Here are the main benefits for accepted participants:

• Business development support, including training to grow your idea, improve operations, and get one-on-one mentorship.
• $5,000 awards for the top three innovations with the best potential to expand quickly.
• Help connecting to funders through partners and a network of investors.
• Chances to show your work at national and international trade fairs, exhibitions, and exchange visits.
• Access to HealthyDiets4Africa project partners for new learning and teamwork opportunities.

To qualify, your innovation or business must meet strict criteria. It needs to solve food system challenges in key areas.

• Sustainable Innovations for Crop Production: Ideas that boost yields, ensure safe food, and protect resources like water and soil.
• Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture: Solutions for growing healthy food in small city or edge-of-town spaces.
• Value Addition and Fortification: Ways to enhance local foods or turn raw crops into new, nutritious products.
• Storage and Post-harvest Handling Innovations: Tools to cut food waste after harvest.
• Training, Distribution, and Aggregation services.

Your work should target value chains for novel or underused foods, such as:

• Vegetables like mushrooms, African leafy greens, pumpkin, or pumpkin leaves.
• Cereals like finger millet, pearl millet, or sorghum.
• Tubers like cassava, yams, or sweet potatoes.
• Legumes like pigeon peas, cow peas, groundnuts, green grams, or beans.
• Fruits like tree tomato, guava, baobab, or others.
• Livestock such as indigenous poultry or insects for feed and food.

You also need a base in Kenya, ideally in the preferred counties. Your enterprise should be less than five years old, with a working prototype or minimum viable product. It must stand out as unique, doable, and able to last.

Teams can apply too, not just solo innovators. You may submit as one person or a group of up to ten.

• Youth applicants and team members: Ages 18 to 35 years.
• Women applicants and team members: Ages 35 to 45 years.

The program seeks those passionate about changing food systems for the better.

Applications close on March 22, 2026, at 11:59 PM. Reviews happen on a rolling basis, so apply early for the best shot.

Key Details:

• Deadline: March 22, 2026, 11:59 PM
• Apply via this form
• Full program details here

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who can apply to the HealthyDiets4Africa Accelerator?

Youth aged 18-35 and women aged 35-45 based in Kenya, especially in counties like Makueni or Nairobi, with agri-innovations under five years old and a working prototype.

What benefits does the program offer?

Accepted participants get business training, one-on-one mentorship, $5,000 awards for top three, investor connections, and exposure at trade fairs.

What types of innovations qualify?

Ideas in sustainable crop production, urban agriculture, value addition, post-harvest handling, or distribution for underused foods like millets, cassava, or indigenous poultry.

When is the application deadline?

Applications close on March 22, 2026, at 11:59 PM, and reviews happen on a rolling basis, so apply as soon as possible.