Nestlé seeks innovators to take part in new Sh5.2m projects

Nestlé through its HENRi@Nestlé open innovation platform, has launched two new projects aimed at addressing some of the most pressing issues facing African countries, including Kenya – nutrition education, and youth unemployment and the decline of farming.

Both projects are currently seeking top entrepreneurs from Kenya and all over the world to help address these issues with the opportunity to gain access to Ksh 5.2 million (US$50,000) in funding.

HENRi@Nestlé is an open innovation platform where Nestlé partners with early-stage companies to create innovative, high-potential solutions in response to brand and business challenges. Gerardo Mazzeo, Global Innovation Director at Nestlé, said: “We are looking for the most creative and effective entrepreneurs to partner with us on these incredibly important projects. Working with entrepreneurs from all over the world and all backgrounds to help us address some of our most pressing business needs helps us to deliver value to our customers, their communities, and the world. We’re excited to see what solutions are proposed and look forward to working with some bright start-ups.”

The first challenge dubbed “Spreading Nutrition Knowledge and Empowering Better Health” focuses on malnutrition, a prominent issue in the Equatorial African Region (EAR). While the region has seen improvement over recent years, Nestlé sees an opportunity to address this problem more effectively through digital innovation.

To spread nutritional knowledge to those with low levels of awareness and a lack of access to information sources, Nestlé wants to capitalise on the steady increase of mobile phone connectivity. Partners that specialise in honing and delivering information, tools and tips through relevant digital channels will be the ideal candidates for this application.

The second project “Nurturing the Next Generation of Farmers” aims to tackle a problem facing the world on a global scale. The population is growing at a staggering rate, putting pressure on the global agricultural sector in meeting the increased demand. However, bright young people are turning to city living and abandoning the idea of an agricultural career.

Nestlé wants to change this by inspiring the agripreneurs of the future in order to help them thrive in an ever-changing farming industry. Start-ups with creative ideas surrounding the development of a modular training course that is flexible, scalable and innovative are encouraged to participate.

Deadlines for both projects are 23:59 GMT on Sunday, 4^th February 2018. After reviewing all the applications, Nestlé will shortlist around five companies to continue to the next stage.