Overview

GAIN Uganda is supporting practical innovations that make fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious foods more accessible, affordable, safe, and desirable.

Through the FreshValue Innovation Challenge 2026 and the Workforce Nutrition Company Onboarding, we are working with MSMEs, youth innovators, employers, and partners to strengthen food systems, reduce post-harvest losses, improve market access, and create healthier workplaces.

Why MSMEs matter

In Uganda, MSMEs account for approximately 98% of all enterprises and play a major role in employment, food systems transformation, and access to nutritious foods. Across Africa, MSMEs are estimated to supply up to 70% of nutritious foods, including fruits and vegetables.
Yet many MSMEs face challenges such as limited finance, fragmented logistics, weak market linkages, and limited access to technology. Supporting these businesses is critical to building stronger, more resilient food systems.
 

FreshValue Innovation Challenge 2026

Are you an MSME or youth-led business making fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable, accessible, or available?

The FreshValue Innovation Challenge 2026 supports innovative business models in Uganda’s fruit and vegetable sector. Selected businesses will receive technical assistance, mentorship, visibility, and an opportunity to access catalytic seed funding to help scale high-impact solutions that contribute to stronger, more resilient, and nutrition-sensitive food systems in Uganda.

Focus areas

• Youth-led or youth-inclusive fruit and vegetable value chain solutions
• Business models that connect Uganda’s fruit and vegetable sector with private sector opportunities, including EU-linked markets
• Innovations in aggregation, cold-chain logistics, processing, packaging, distribution, value addition, standards, traceability, and market access.

Applications close: 8th June 2026
Winners announced: 27th June 2026
Awards: Pool of USD 7,000 in funding for 6 winners

For more information or clarification, kindly contact Babra: 

+256 (0)771844101

Apply Now

Nutrition at the Workplace

One in three people globally suffers from malnutrition in its various forms, including undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies. These conditions pose significant challenges to overallwell-beingand health, particularly contributing to the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In fact, one in four adult deaths is attributed to NCDs.

GAIN Uganda is implementing a Workplace Nutrition initiative aimed at improving employees’ access to nutritious diets and enhancing dietary diversity. 

The program includes: Nutrition awareness sessions, Menu assessments and improvements and Continuous engagement with participating workplaces.

Target

24 companies with 21,000 employees (Each company should have at least 500 employees)

A clear and transparent process will build greater trust with our stakeholders, and company owners will also value the programmes since they will be the ones who have expressed interest.

After Onboarding, What’s Next?

• Nutrition Education
• Menu Assessment and Improvement
• Promoting healthy food at work
• Continuous communication about healthy eating to the employees

Applications close: 15th June 2026

For more information or clarification, kindly contact Babra: 

+256 (0)771844101

Apply Now