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

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

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