The Paal

Custom Livestock; India

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Custom Livestock Challenge

Learn more about the Custom Livestock Challenge and why distributing proven livestock interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

The Paal is reimagining the cow as more than just a livelihood, turning it into an investable asset to unlock economic opportunities for smallholder women farmers.

The Paal turns livestock into an investable asset class to bring better opportunities and economic security for smallholder farmers. The pilot is in Salem and Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu in India. Unlike others, The Paal treats the farm as not merely an input but as a core product- creating value for farmers, consumers, and investors alike.

The Paal was co-founded by Manali Jain, a graduate student at Harvard University who serves as CEO, and Shivam Johri, COO, with experience in agribusiness and private equity. They met as undergraduates at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and combined grassroots insight with strong operational expertise to build a scalable, farmer-first model.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 100 customers.

• Distribute 50 proven interventions.

• Fundraise an additional $30,000.

FOUNDING TEAM

Manali Jain - CEO

Shivam Johri - COO

HERVeg.05

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; Tanzania

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Quality inputs, and technical training

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

HERVeg.05 empowers women and youth in rural Tanzania to fight malnutrition and poverty through a climate-smart, integrated farming model that improves nutrition, income, and resilience.

HERVeg.05 works with local Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in rural Tanzania to deliver high-quality poultry, biofortified maize, and vegetable seeds directly to farmers, alongside hands-on training in nutrition and sustainable farming. By using a mobile layaway system, farmers can save as little as $1 to access essential inputs, making the model affordable even with seasonal incomes.

One thing that sets HERVeg.05 apart is its smart integration of poultry, crops, and vegetables, where manure boosts crop yields, crop leftovers feed chickens, and the loop improves health and income. Their last-mile delivery approach ensures even remote farmers are included without extra cost. The pilot is currently underway in Tanzania, with a scalable model designed for broader African markets.

HERVeg.05 was founded by Ibrahim Islam, a passionate advocate for climate-smart agriculture and youth empowerment in rural Tanzania. Ibrahim brings a strong background in agricultural innovation, community engagement, and impact-driven entrepreneurship. He leads the venture’s vision, operations, and growth strategy on the ground.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Directly reach 600 smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, within three months.

• Through 25 local village agents, distribute 3000 one-month fully vaccinated SASSO chickens, 400kg of vegetable seeds and 2 tons of biofortified maize in three months.

• Fundraise an additional USD 45,000 from new donors.

FOUNDING TEAM

Ibrahim Islam - C.E.O. and Founder

Kilimo-Premier Financial Services Limited

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; Tanzania

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Improved seeds, and fertilizer, training on agronomic practices, finance for farm inputs, and market facilitation

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Kilimo-Premier Financial Services Limited aims to be among the leading financial services providers within the country that improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods through the provision of agro-credit services.

Their model is called the Modified Grameen Model, where solidarity groups guarantee loans and repayment settled on increments at any time within six months. Smallholder farmers join solidarity groups of 5 members called Enterprise Group (EG) and 10 EG form large groups of 50 members called Market Enterprise Committee (MEC). Members in groups will guarantee each other by using their farm fields, so group credit monitoring is the member’s responsibility.

The model reduces the difficulties in loan administration and developing guarantees, the loan services are provided in bundle bases including distribution of improved seeds, and fertilizer, training on agronomic practices, finance for farm inputs, and market facilitation to maximize profits. The MEC members make the final decision on approving loans because they are loan guarantors. The loan repayment will be done on a weekly basis during MEC meetings.

Kilimo Premier Financial Services Limited was founded in 2023 by Kataga Daniel Ngulinzira and Grace Manyama Shadrack. The team members have experience in different professions, Kataga has been an expert in agribusiness sectors for more than 10 years, and Grace is in financial management and baking. Grace serves as the company's full-time Financial and Administrative Director, and Mr. Kataga serves as Managing Director. The company expects to recruit one full-time Loan and Training Officer after its commencing for field work.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• 150 smallholder farmers directly reached within three months.

• 3Market Enterprises Committees (MEC) and 30 Enterprises Groups (EG) mobilized and facilitated by agronomic practices and agro-loans.

• Fundraise an additional fund of $ 10,000 from donors/investors within three months.

FOUNDING TEAM

Kataga Daniel Ngulinzira - Managing Director

Grace Manyama Shadrack - Financial and Administrative Director

Ziimba

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; Uganda

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Quality inputs, technical training, field monitoring, and direct linkages to markets

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Ziimba's mission is to empower marginalized farmers to earn substantial income through sustainable agroforestry.

Ziimba’s program is a hyper-scalable, smallholder-based agroforestry initiative that aims to create viable livelihoods for ultra-poor dry-land farmers in Kyankwanzi District, located in Uganda's cattle corridor, where the pilot is set to launch.

Ziimba is employing an end-to-end support model of distributing quality inputs, technical training, ongoing field monitoring, and direct linkages to preferred markets for farmers’ high-value tree outputs.

Their model stands out for its dual approach of helping farmers earn a living wage in the short-term with high-value cash crops interplanted in woodlots, and providing a transformative, secondary source of income in the long-term with rapid-growing trees suitable for dry-land cultivation and high-value commercial utility.

By forging strategic partnerships that empower marginalized farmers via their proven intervention, they will convert their underutilized and deteriorating landholdings into sustainable tree farms, thereby elevating their livelihoods, eradicating deforestation, and stifling surging demand in the region's wood-scarce markets.

Juliet Namwanje is the Founder of Ziimba and serves as the organization's Executive Director alongside key team members including Gerald Katende, a knowledgeable advisory board member who brings extensive knowledge of the pilot district's climate, poverty-driven challenges, and forest management; Simon Zziwa, the Director of Field Operations, with a strong background as a Senior Agriculture Officer and Agronomist; John Kibuuka, the Field Manager with vast experience in community-centric reforestation from the National Forestry Authority (NFA); and Maureen Nakacwa, the Field Facilitator, known for her administrative coordination and efforts in workplace gender equality.

Each member brings specialized knowledge and experience, allowing Ziimba to address the multifaceted challenges of the agroforestry initiative effectively. United by a shared vision, the team is deeply committed to spreading Ziimba’s proven agroforestry intervention to marginalized populations across Sub-Saharan Africa, starting in Uganda, to address the continent’s growing wood supply deficit.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Directly reach 180+ beneficiaries during the pilot.

• Establish 40 operational woodlots with 9,600+ trees planted.

• Fundraise an additional $50,000 USD from new donors or investors within three months.

FOUNDING TEAM

Juliet Namwanje - Founder and Executive Director

Gerald Katende - Board Member

Simon Zziwa - Director of Field Operations

John Kibuuka - Field Manager

Maureen Nakacwa - Field Facilitator

Cultiba

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; COLOMBIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Micro-forestry market bundle.

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Cultiba empowers Colombian smallholder farmers to engage in sustainable micro-forestry.

The average Colombian farmer is unable to engage in sustainable commercial forestry because they lack capital, quality inputs, technical expertise, and direct linkages to market. Cultiba empowers Colombian smallholder farmers to make use of their unproductive land to produce balsa wood for sale in industrial markets and increase their income. They deliver a proven micro-forestry partnership model where smallholder farmers provide land, labor, and security, and we deliver inputs, training, and access to fair market prices.

Cultibas’s CEO, Diego Hakspiel, has over 8 years of experience in the development sector working with the private sector, social enterprises, UN agencies, and INGOs in East Africa and Latin America.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 500 smallholder farmers within 6 months

• 16,000 balsa seedlings planted within 6 months

• Secure offtake agreement for initial plantation (value of $400,000) within 6 months

• Reach 1,000 smallholder farmers by the end of year 1

• Reach 5,000 smallholder farmers by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Diego Hakspiel - CEO

Mlimi Agro Hub

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; MALAWI

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Quality seeds and other key inputs for rural farmers through a franchised agro dealer network and a youth agent network. 

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Mlimi Agro Hub distributes quality farm inputs, including fertilizer, seeds and post-harvest storage bags, to smallholder farmers and supports them with extension services on better agronomic practices through village savings groups, farmer cooperatives, and existing hardware stores.

Mlimi Agro Hub model has three main components that include, engaging owners of hardware stores nearer to smallholder farmers as sales agents, providing asset-based loan service to farmers belonging to Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), and involving lead farmers in the dissemination of information to smallholder farmers on better agronomic practices. Our model addresses major reasons limiting smallholder farmers from accessing quality agricultural inputs and the reasons are limited access to agriculture loan, long distances to agro-dealer shops located in towns and lack of knowledge on better agronomic practices like fertilizer micro-dosing and correct plant spacing.

Mlimi Agro Hub was founded by Gilbert Banda, Wilson Nkhata, and Marko Chiumia. The team members have knowledge and experience in the agriculture sector in Malawi.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 100 smallholder farmers during the pilot period

• Raise additional $10,000 by the end of the pilot period

• Reach 2,500 farmers by the end of year 1

• Reach 8,500 farmers by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Gilbert Chikwama Banda - Managing Director

Wilson Nkhata - Sales & Operations Manager

Marko Chiumia - Business Development Manager

Fuga

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; KENYA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Livestock health and nutrition products.

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Fuga (formerly Cherehani Agriculture) leverages an organized network of veterinary doctors to distribute animal health and nutrition products.

The veterinary extension officers use a downloadable application to onboard farmers within their area of work. They schedule visits and order medicine directly through the app. Fuga aggregates this demand to order and supply medicine from manufacturers directly to the extension officers who use them in farms. This model shortens the delivery time from manufacturer to farmer while lowering cost and increasing efficiency.

Fuga was founded in 2019 by Wesley Owiti, Nasreen Ali, Christine Mukiri and Robert Mboya.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 500 farmers by the end of the three-month pilot

• Provide vaccination to over 2,000 cattle by the end of the three-month pilot

• Raise additional $50,000 by the end of the three-month pilot

• Reach 60,000 beneficiaries by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Wesley Owiti - CEO

Christine Mukiri - CTO

Robert Mboya - COO

Nasreen Ali - CFO

The Taimaka Project

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Taimaka was awarded D-Prize pilot funding for the distribution of post-harvest credit and storage to help farmers save and avoid lean season poverty and hunger.

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

The Taimaka Project’s mission to tackle food insecurity in Northeastern Nigeria began with the implementation of a post-harvest loans (PHL) program that delivered crop storage bags and a small loan to rural farmers to help them save their crops and sell when prices were up to 50% higher.

After a large-scale RCT with UC-Berkeley and Stanford showed that PHLs was cost-effective but lower than the bar Taimaka sets for its own work, Taimaka made the hard decision to transition away from the PHLs program in favor of another way we had begun to tackle food insecurity in the same communities – treating children with malnutrition.

Taimaka currently runs a treatment program that 1) delivers life-saving treatment to children in Nigeria and 2) serves as an incubator for cost-effective innovations that can either improve the quality, decrease the costs, or simplify the delivery of malnutrition treatment so that the 45.4 million children who need it can get it (only 20-30% currently get treatment). Because malnutrition is the leading cause of childhood deaths globally, and because millions are already spent on treatment every year, even marginal improvements can yield high impact. A reduction in the cost of treatment by just 1% would free up over $3.4 million currently spent globally on treatment to treat an additional 50,000 children.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

Post-Harvest Loans Pilot:

• Distributed PHLs to 1,000 smallholder farmers in Nigeria

• Generated an additional $25,000 in post-harvest income for farmers

Malnutrition Scaling Goals:

• Test 3-4 candidate innovations in annual portfolios

• Push at least 1 innovation to scale to reach 20% of treated children by Year 5

• Reduce the cost-per-life saved of malnutrition treatment by 10% by Year 5

FOUNDING TEAM

Justin Graham - Co-founder

Abubakar Umar - Co-founder

Muhammad Uba - Co-founder

Parth Ahya - Co-founder

Justin Graham is Taimaka’s Executive Director and an Oxford graduate with a background in evidence-based development and quantitative economics. Abubakar Umar is Taimaka’s Medical Director and a former pediatrician with the Nigerian government. Muhammad Uba and Parth Ahya now serve on the board.

AgriSocius Lda

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; MOZAMBIQUE

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Quality seeds and other key agricultural inputs

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

"AgriSocius, Lda is a social and inclusive agribusiness company whose mission is to unleash Economic potential of smallholder farmers. We provide smallholder farmers with relevant and affordable resources for increased farm productivity and income. We work in the best interest of smallholder farmers. Our vision is that of a decent life for every smallholder farmer Family in communities we work in. Our commitment to our vision and mission forces us to work in the best interest of smallholder farmers.

We strongly believe that high levels of poverty and hunger amongst smallholder farmers in rural areas is a direct result of 3 interlinked factors: 1) deficient and ineffective agricultural inputs distribution system, 2) unavailability and high cost of financial products and services and 3) Limited access to remunerative agricultural markets. The combination of these three factors not only limit adoption of new productivity enhancing technologies, such as agricultural inputs, but also lowers farm productivity, quality of produce and farm income. This is why we establish and operate Pro-Farmer Distribution Hubs, which provide all the resources smallholder farmers need in order to increase productivity, incomes and command a decent life"

AgriSocius Lda was founded in 2016 by Quisito Bastos Gimo and Varnila Gimo. The first fully owned Distribution Hub will be established in Barue District.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Procure and distribute quality inputs to 2,500 farmers by the end of the pilot

• Distribute at least 15,000 litres of pesticides to smallholder farmers during the pilot

• Reach 5,000 farmers by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Quisito Bastos Gimo - Co-founder

Varnila Gimo - Co-founder

Relief to Farmers

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; GHANA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Quality seeds and other key inputs for rural farmers through a franchised agro dealer network and a youth agent network. 

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Relief to Farmers (RTF) aims to improve the lives of low-income smallholder maize farmers through the distribution of Purdue Improved Crops Storage (PICS) bags in the Ejura Sekyeredumasi District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. In the current practice, enterprises focus on selling local bags, which are less effective. Through micro-lenders, RTF will distribute affordable PICS loans to poor smallholder maize FBOS who need it the most and be required to pay loans at flexible periods.

Relief to Farmers was founded by Benjamin Amoah Boateng and Abdulai Abdul-Jalil who all have vast experience in the maize and PIC distribution chain.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Distribute 6,000 PICS bags reaching 600 farmers by the end of the three-month pilot

• Raise additional $10,000 by the end of the three-month pilot

• Reach 1,170 farmers by the end of year 1

• Reach 2,340 farmers by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Benjamin Amoah - Co-founder

Abdulai Jalil - Co-founder

Nutri You

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; KENYA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Drip irrigation systems.

Learn more about the Custom Challenge and why we only fund ideas that focus on distributing proven poverty interventions.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

The Nutri You model seeks to provide smallholder farmers in Busia County, Kenya, with affordable access to a low-cost drip irrigation system through a bundled low-cost irrigation package. This system will allow farmers to irrigate their crops all year round, relieving them of their dependence on rain, thus enabling them to increase local food production. The project has adopted a pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) finance model that offers farmers a micro-leasing option to acquire the system upfront with just a 30% down payment. The farmers then get as two month grace period before continuing to make slow payments over the course of 6 months.

Nutri You strives to create simplicity in agriculture by offering farmers affordable yet practical products and services that simplify their lives and help them grow.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 300 farmers in first three months

• 2 agents to distribute 35 drip irrigation systems within first three months

FOUNDING TEAM

Ellen Savude - Project Manager

Laetitia Mukungu - Technical Lead

Haggai Pepela - Operations Lead

Mpumalanga Zwane - Communications Lead

Agri Eco Enterprise (AEE)

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; MALAWI

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags are a triple-layered plastic bag that serves as an air-tight storage method for harvested crops. 

Learn more about the Custom Challenge and why we only fund ideas that focus on distributing proven poverty interventions.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Agri Eco Enterprise (AEE) aims to boost the lives of 100,000 Malawian smallholder farmers over the next few seasons through the distribution of Purdue Improved Crops Storage (PICS) bags in the districts of Dowa, Lilongwe, and Kasungu. Many enterprises focus on selling local bags, which are less effective.

AEE will recruit agents who will be distributing the PICS bags to smallholder farmers on commission basis. PICS will be supplied by poly pack Malawi Company which will be distributed to various agents in the targeted districts. The agents will be the shop owners who are already selling farm produces, seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and many others.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Distribute 50,000 PICS bags in first three months

• Reach 10,000 farmers with training and PICS bags in first three months

• Reach 1 million farmers by Y5

FOUNDING TEAM

Ms. Joyce Sikwese - Executive Director

Mr. Sanderson Banda - Marketing Officer

PHK Trading

CUSTOM CHALLENGE; ETHIOPIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags are a triple-layered plastic bag that serves as an air-tight storage method for harvested crops. 

Learn more about the Custom Challenge and why we only fund ideas that focus on distributing proven poverty interventions.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Ethiopia produces over 300 million quintals (1 quintal = 100kg) of grain per annum. Post-harvest loss in Ethiopia is estimated at about 22-30%, equivalent to approximately USD $230 million. The most notable causes of this post-harvest loss are attacks from weevils, rodents, and moisture or growth of mold. Farmers use different traditional and modern technologies to control insects. The most popular traditional method is the use of underground pits which can lead to mold growth. 

PICS bags are potentially the next revolutionary product for safe grain storage for millions of farmers in Ethiopia. The inner lining of the bags greatly hinders the movement of oxygen across the wall of the bag, killing insects. The overall efficacy of the bags in protecting grain or seed from infestation is reported to be over 99%. 

PHK Trading will increase sales and distribution of PICS bags by adoping a youth reseller model. Local youth with close relationships to local shop owners will be a key component of the supply chain. As sales agents, these youth resellers will take PICS bags from local vendors on credit, travel to markets in a particular community in order to bring the bags closer to smallholder farmers, sell the bags, and take home a $.19 margin per bag sold. 

The youth resellers will be chosen carefully on recommendations from local elders and will be tested to assess their entrepreneurial spirit. They will also receive training and professional development. PHK trading will hold demonstrations of the PICS bags in targeted villages with clusters of farmers to increase awareness of the product. 

PICS technology has been introduced to more than 50,000 villages across Sub-Saharan Africa. The bags are manufactured and sold in 28 countries in Africa and Asia. To date, more than 12 million PICS bags have been sold with the scale up funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and executed by Purdue University. PHK Trading is authorized by Purdue University to commercialize PICS bags. Over a period of two years, farmers will see a 123% return on investment. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Recruit 60 youth resellers by the end of year 1 

• Distribute 45,000 bags by the end of year 1 

FOUNDING TEAM

Yared Sertse - Project Leader

Yemisrach Getachew - Project Coordinator

Michael Tariku - Project Coordinator