Innovating for impact – how SMEs and start-ups are rising to Pakistan’s unique food system challenges

When you develop a new food product or start a food business do you think about sustainability? Do you focus on the financials? Nature? People? Food that’s nutritious, safe, affordable and accessible? All of these?

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Pakistan’s SUN business network, along with GAIN and WFP, asked companies to consider these aspects in their SME innovation challenge (NutriBiz-2024), operated by Fruit of Sustainability. The theme was “Innovate for impact: Shaping a sustainable future in agri-food”. The purpose was to encourage and support innovative and sustainable solutions for food.

Pakistan’s unique challenges need sustainable and tailored solutions. To understand why, let's look at some food system facts about this formidable country.

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It’s the fifth largest country with close to 253 million people. While the middle class is growing, 59% of people can’t afford a healthy diet and experience a high level of malnutrition. For example, stunting affects 38% of children and this severely impacts their ability to develop. Pakistan is also extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate breakdown.

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Agri-food SMEs are critical to the economy, providing employment and a source of income from exports. But these businesses face spectacular challenges, for example, access to markets and support to build capacity, not to mention a ton of evolving regulations. They need targeted support to be more competitive and sustainable.

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Nutribiz was looking for SMEs and start-ups that make nutritious foods available and affordable, especially for low-income people. And their business practices should be sustainable.

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Helping SMEs build capacity is incredibly rewarding and solutions that genuinely help people to eat sustainably get my vote! Pakistan holds a special place in my heart, so I jumped at the chance to join the Nutribiz challenge panel of judges.

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Our panel assessed if the solutions were:

·?????? Innovative and unique

·?????? Aligned with ESG principles

·?????? Practical and feasible to implement and scale

·?????? Impactful on nutrition, sustainability or economic growth

·?????? Presented clearly, engaging and well-structured

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SME’s target groups included:

·?????? Mothers and young children who need quick, tasty and nutritious food

·?????? Women who are at home, excluded from the job market but can cook brilliantly

·?????? College students who have no time or place to eat a nutritious lunch

·?????? Farmers impacted when the market price doesn’t cover the cost of production

·?????? Farmers wanting to grow produce without synthetic pesticides and fertilisers

·?????? People who want to access fresh produce in cities

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The pitches had the potential to dramatically change people’s lives and women made more than two-thirds of them. It’s an important consideration when women suffer most from the effects of poor nutrition such as anaemia and are frequently excluded from the modern economy.

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Choosing a winner was tough, and the 23 participants had been narrowed down already from over a hundred representing the entire food system!

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These solutions caught my eye:

·?????? An online platform and recipe advice service where women sell their home cooking to local people at affordable prices

·?????? A processor who transforms surplus fruit into food products keeping production close to the farms and local economy

·?????? A biscuit fortified with calcium from eggshells that would normally be wasted

·?????? A kitchen that operates close to college buildings to feed students affordable, quick and nutritious meals

·?????? A packaging film made from potato waste

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There were more good entries and ones that also catered to higher-income consumers such as frozen yoghurt cubes wrapped in plastic made from whey waste, indoor greens farms for apartments, and organically grown local olive oil.

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Considering the need for impact, our panel emphasised these aspects in our feedback:

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·?????? Ensure the solution is accessible and affordable for those who need it most

·?????? Ensure the returns are distributed fairly throughout your value chain

·?????? Work with other SMEs to join solutions, for example, partner with the packaging SMEs on compostable packaging.

·?????? Connect better with retailers to commercialise products

·?????? Marketeers must focus on sustainability challenges as they are in a strong position to bring change

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Sarim Mehmood reminded contestants that they should prepare for changing sustainability requirements such as EU CSRD and CSDD. This is needed whether they plan to export, supply multinationals in Pakistan or meet the growing expectations of Pakistan’s citizens. Organisations like Fruit of Sustainability are helping SMEs to upskill accordingly.

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Naturally, there’s work yet to do, which is normal in a fast-evolving space like food. Yet these brilliant food leaders are up to the challenge, and I can’t wait to see their impact!

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???? The results of the competition will be announced on December the 19th - follow Fruit of Sustainability for news.

???? If you want to know how to create a sustainable impact in our food system, please drop me a line.

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Image: Start-ups, SMEs, and judges in the NutriBiz-2024 innovation challenge. Image credit: Sarim Mehmood.