Fund
Nutritious Foods Financing Facility
This fund invests in SMEs to improve access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food in Sub-Saharan Africa—while tackling malnutrition and supporting sustainable food systems.
- Sustainable Food
- Private Debt
- Technical Assistance
- Blended Finance
Status: Open
Our ambition
To address malnutrition through investment. This is the first dedicated impact fund designed to improve access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food in Sub-Saharan Africa—with a particular focus on the most vulnerable communities.
This fund addresses a critical gap: Almost two-thirds of Africans cannot afford a healthy diet, and over half of the continent’s population suffers from at least one form of malnutrition. Meanwhile, SMEs produce, process, and sell about 80% of the region’s nutritious foods—yet they face a staggering $245 billion financing gap. This fund is built to bridge this divide.
Malnutrition is a bigger obstacle to development than poverty more generally, The Economist reports. Still, nutrition is a missing pillar in the impact investing world.
Through debt financing and targeted technical assistance, this fund supports SMEs across the nutrition value chain—from production and processing to cold chain logistics and fortified products. We invest in businesses driving innovation, inclusion, and resilience within local food systems. Every dollar invested supports progress across health, education, gender equity, climate adaptation, and economic growth.
By investing in this fund, you are powering a new paradigm: proving that nutrition is investable, scalable, and essential to sustainable development.
Invest in transformative people and enterprises in:
Nutritious food production and processing
Sustainable agriculture and inputs
Cold chain storage and logistics
Affordable protein supply
Fortified foods and flours
N3F represents a pioneering approach to investing in nutrition. We aim to share success stories of impact and sustainability, crowd-in additional capital, and achieve the nutrition targets of SDG 2 on ‘Zero Hunger’.
Roberta BoveSenior Lead, Innovative Finance for Nutrition, GAIN
Through this fund, we are addressing the funding gap for SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our focus is clear: supporting businesses where it matters most. With deals in the works across East and West Africa, the impact is real, and the opportunities are concrete.
Myrtho VlastouHead of Debt, Sustainable Food, Incofin
Partners
GAIN – Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
A Swiss-based foundation focused on tackling human suffering caused by malnutrition. GAIN manages the Technical Assistance Facility for this fund and leads the nutrition impact assessments.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
SDC is an agency within the Swiss Government, engaged in overseas development. It is an anchor investor of this fund.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
USAID was the principal U.S. government agency for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance to other countries. USAID has been an anchor investor of N3F.
Fund Details
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