- 16/01/2025
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a pivotal role in addressing Nigeria’s nutrition challenges, given their significant contribution to the local food system and economy. MSMEs are essential drivers of innovation, employment, and food production, helping make nutritious foods more accessible to underserved populations. However, MSMEs face an array of systemic barriers that hinder their growth and ability to scale sustainable nutrition solutions, such as high costs, complex regulations, and restricted access to finance. To bring together policymakers and the private sector to discuss these challenges, a Nutrition Policy Dialogue was convened by GAIN and the Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network (SBN) in Abuja on October 31, 2024. Attendees included the Regional and State Hub leads for SBN in Nigeria as well as representatives from businesses, government departments, academia, civil-society organisations, and other key stakeholders.
Through a keynote address, a panel discussion, and two breakout groups, the meeting highlighted key challenges, including regulatory overlaps, limited financial access, and policy inconsistencies affecting MSMEs. It also proposed actionable recommendations such as harmonising regulatory frameworks, developing cluster-based financing models, and enhancing financial literacy. Finally, it served to foster stakeholder commitments to training programs, advocacy efforts, and implementation of innovative financing solutions.
- 06/01/2025
NUTRITION IMPACT AT SCALE (NIS) Through the Nutrition Impact at Scale project, GAIN seeks to scale the impact of its work to increase access to safe and nutritious foods, especially for low-income consumers. By working with other organisations (Enterprise Support Organisations) that are willing and have the requisite capacity to attach a 'nutrition lens' to their work with small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Nutrition Impact at Scale (NIS) will enable a large-scale and accelerated nutrition impact for the larger African population. Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, NIS uses a market systems development approach to improve food systems, increase inclusivity, and, ultimately, nutrition outcomes. The project leverages on the extensive experience GAIN have developed over the years of providing quality technical assistance, networking experience, knowledge sharing, building capacity of partners, and the provision of various tools and resources to MSMEs, to attach a 'nutrition lens' to the work of ESOs in Nigeria, Benin, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Kenya.
- 20/12/2024
The SUN Business Network (SBN), co-convened by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Global
Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), operates within the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement’s multisectoral
framework to address malnutrition, through private sector engagement.
Last month the UN Food and Agriculture Organization released its biennial State of Agricultural Commodity Markets report, and we were delighted to see it focusing on a topic close to our own hearts: policy coherence between trade and nutrition.
- 17/12/2024
Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of economic development in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Their role is particularly important since they are estimated to make up the vast majority of food system businesses and play a critical role in achieving food security and supporting nutrition, as well as providing employment. To function optimally, business-support programmes and interventions are often developed based on the assumption that institutional constraints impede MSMEs from maximising their potential. Support services can be broadly grouped into financial assistance (e.g., grants, loans) and technical assistance (e.g., business development services, training, networking).
- 28/11/2024
This report presents objective findings on the current levels of nutrition integration in international instruments and guidelines, and national legislations, regulations and procedures. Nutrition is only integrated in a few examples. Many laws, instruments and codes were developed before worker malnutrition was as prominent an issue and before newer scientific evidence emerged linking worker performance to improved nutrition. This new context, married with the evidence in this report, highlights the enormous opportunity presented to future labour standard setting for employees and employers.
- 30/10/2024
Drawing on GAIN’s evidence-based four pillar framework for effective workforce nutrition programmes and prior experience in India's tea sector, a workforce nutrition programme was proposed, designed and implemented for tea estate workers and their families on 12 tea estates throughout the country. The programme was implemented between February 2021 and March 2023 in collaboration with the Ethical Tea Partnership
- 28/10/2024
GAIN saw an opportunity to establish a workforce nutrition programme designed and implemented for both tea farmers and employed labourers of tea farms in four tea factories in Kericho County, Kenya. The programme was implemented between January 2020 and December 2022 in collaboration with the Ethical Tea Partnership, and aimed to reached 26,000 workers.
To boost growth, development and future wellbeing, a range of diverse fruits and vegetables should form part of all our regular meals. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, and lower the risk of eye and digestive problems. Non-starchy vegetables and fruits, like apples, pears and green leafy vegetables may even promote weight loss.
- 23/07/2024
This report demonstrates that investing in nutritious food value chains allows investors to achieve significant gender impact. The hope is that more funding will be unlocked for nutritious food value chains, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which critically lack access to financing in emerging markets.
