BioSustainability Design Programme

Nurturing Growth
Through Design

This programme combines entrepreneurship support, design thinking, field immersion, and learning to empower entrepreneurs and mission-driven change-makers across the region.

Rwanda Uganda Ethiopia

The BioSustainability Design Programme is a programme led by the World Food Programme IGNITE Innovation Hub and funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The programme is designed to catalyse innovation and sustainable transformation within the Home-Grown School Meals value chain through empowering a new generation of solution-oriented innovators to tackle systemic challenges related to climate-smart food production, nutrition, and energy use in schools. Grounded in design thinking and social entrepreneurship principles, the programme provides participants a platform for designing, testing, refining, and commercializing solutions in close collaboration with communities and programme stakeholders.

Each year, we will onboard sixteen cross-disciplinary teams who will receive foundation training in design thinking and need-based innovation, build sustainable business models, and explore pathways to scale in collaboration with WFP and local partners.

What the Programme Offers

Selected teams will participate in a structured entrepreneurship programme that includes:

Entrepreneurship Programme

Selected teams will participate in the BioSustainability Design Programme for ten months and get access to our unique entrepreneurship support

Design Thinking Training & Field Immersion

Selected teams will receive in-depth training in design thinking and need-based innovation, coaching, and opportunities to validate, refine, and build their solutions with local communities and key partners in East Africa

Business Training

Selected teams will receive intensive business training and get to build initial traction for their solutions in the market

Ecosystem Access

Selected teams will get exposure to the rich WFP and implementing partner networks that can help their ideas to the next level

Programme Overview

May 2026

Call for Applications

Innovators from Ethiopia, Uganda & Rwanda apply

June 2026

Selection Process

16 cross-disciplinary teams selected

Aug 2026

Kick-off Bootcamp

Foundational training in design thinking & need-based innovation

Sept 2026

Design Thinking Lab & Field Immersion

Field immersion, problem discovery, prototyping, testing & iteration

Jan 2027

Business Lab & Piloting

Business model development & solution piloting

May 2027

Showcase

Present solutions to partners and ecosystem actors

Programme Benefits

Over the 10 months of this programme, you will:

Gain hands-on experience with need-based innovation, design thinking and entrepreneurship

Apply design thinking and need-based innovation methods to uncover and validate real needs within the East African food systems

Conduct real-world need assessment to generate ideas for innovative solutions

Generate, test and refine solution concepts – from idea to prototype

Develop business cases, implementation strategies and stakeholder buy-in for your solution

Present your final solution to industry partners, experts and potential accelerators/investors etc.

Develop prototypes that can lead to:

VentureYour own startup or business venture
TechnologyOpen-source technology or publication to enable adaptation by others
NetworkNew projects, collaborations and ecosystem partnerships

Who Should Apply

The BioSustainability Design Programme is looking for research-based food-systems innovators in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda tackling one or more of the Impact Pathways.

Inclusion Focus

Youth innovators (18–30), women entrepreneurs and innovators working directly with communities in the region are strongly encouraged to apply.

Have a research-backed idea or invention in at least one of the programme’s impact pathways in Ethiopia, Rwanda or Uganda.

Have at least two team members based in Ethiopia, Rwanda or Uganda working on the idea.

Are committed to transforming the idea into an enterprise.

Demonstrate commitment to building scalable solutions for low-income and rural communities.

Be available for programme activities for the duration of the programme, including field immersion, testing, and training sessions.

Impact Pathways

The BioSustainability Design Programme is looking for local solutionsinnovations that address critical challenges within the Home-Grown School Feeding & Food Systems in Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia. The three priority impact pathways are:

Local farmer working in a climate-resilient field

Pathway 01

Climate-Smart Food Production

The Goal Ensure a resilient supply of locally-grown, sustainable ingredients for school feeding programs despite climate volatility.

Smallholder farmers play a central role in supplying food to the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme. However, many farmers face challenges such as limited access to agricultural inputs, financing, and extension services, which restrict their ability to adopt climate-smart practices and increase productivity. The programme is seeking innovations that strengthen climate-resilient food production and improve the capacity of smallholder farmers to supply local markets and school feeding programmes.

Innovation Areas

Climate-resilient agricultural practices and technologies
Access to affordable and sustainable farm inputs
Improved post-harvest management and storage solutions
Farmer aggregation and supply coordination systems
Digital or service-based solutions that support smallholder productivity

Happy child eating a nutritious meal provided by a school feeding programme

Pathway 02

Nutritious & Locally Sourced Meals

The Goal Directly impact child health and learning outcomes through consistent access to high-quality, local nutrition.

School feeding programmes are an important pathway to improve nutrition and learning outcomes for children. However, schools often face constraints related to food supply chains, infrastructure, and operational capacity, which affect the quality and diversity of meals served. The programme is looking for innovations that improve the availability, quality, and preparation of nutritious meals sourced from local food systems.

Innovation Areas

Nutritious food products suitable for school feeding programmes
Local food processing and value addition
Improved school kitchen infrastructure or preparation processes
Food safety and quality assurance systems
Supply chain solutions that connect schools with local producers

Modern clean cooking stove in an institutional kitchen

Pathway 03

Clean Cooking Solutions

The Goal Radically reduce environmental footprint and operational costs while protecting kitchen staff health.

Many schools rely on traditional cooking methods that depend heavily on firewood, leading to environmental degradation, high fuel costs, and health risks from smoke exposure. The programme is seeking innovative solutions that support the transition toward cleaner, more efficient cooking technologies suitable for institutional settings such as schools.

Innovation Areas

Clean cooking technologies designed for institutional kitchens
Alternative fuels and sustainable energy solutions
Cost-reduction and financing models for clean cooking adoption
Monitoring and evidence-generation for clean cooking technologies
Solutions that reduce reliance on firewood and improve health outcomes

Country-Specific Calls

Each focus country features unique impact pathways tailored to local challenges. Select your region below to view specific priorities and begin your application.

Rwanda

Are you an entrepreneur, innovator, or researcher developing solutions that can improve access to climate-smart agriculture, strengthen school meal traceability, or scale affordable clean cooking technologies for schools in Rwanda?

Apply Here

Uganda

Are you an entrepreneur, innovator, or researcher developing solutions that can help smallholder farmers adopt climate-smart production, strengthen nutritious school meals, or scale clean cooking solutions for schools in Karamoja?

Apply Here

Ethiopia

Are you an entrepreneur, innovator, or researcher developing solutions that can strengthen climate-smart food production, improve the safety and quality of school meals, or expand access to affordable clean cooking solutions for schools in Tigray and Somali regions?

Apply Here

Regional Focus

Our programme is deeply rooted in the unique landscapes and socio-economic conditions of Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda. Select a region to understand our local strategy.

🇪🇹

Ethiopia

Addis Ababa · Amhara · Oromia

Growing enough food crops, especially staples like cereals and pulses, is central to our Ethiopia strategy. We are working with smallholder farming cooperatives and school feeding networks to build more climate-resilient supply chains.

4,200+

Farmers

Schools

$680K

Investment

Focus Areas

Climate-Smart Ag School Meals Market Linkages

🇷🇼

Rwanda

Kigali · Northern Province · Eastern Province

Rwanda's densely cultivated hillsides and strong government buy-in make it an ideal context for piloting innovations in clean cooking and value chain integration. We work closely with local cooperatives and the Rwanda Agriculture Board.

3,800+

Farmers

Schools

$520K

Investment

Focus Areas

Clean Cooking Biofortification Cooperatives

🇺🇬

Uganda

Kampala · Western · Northern Uganda

Uganda's rich agroecological diversity and entrepreneurial ecosystem present significant opportunities. Our focus is on scaling nutrition-sensitive food systems and supporting youth-led agri-businesses connected to school feeding channels.

4,000+

Farmers

Schools

$480K

Investment

Focus Areas

Youth Enterprise Nutrition Agroforestry

About the Implementing Partners

A consortium of mission-aligned institutions driving sustainable food systems.

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change. WFP’s IGNITE Innovation Hub for Eastern and Southern Africa was launched to leverage WFP’s deep field access and expertise to develop, nurture and scale sustainable innovations for increased food security in the region. You can find more information here.

Circle Innovation is a climate innovation catalyst advancing climate resilience and sustainable development in Africa. We catalyze early-stage climate ventures, drive systems innovation, and build the ecosystems needed to scale climate solutions. Through venture support, innovation labs, research, and strategic partnerships, we bridge the gap between ideas and impact—helping bold climate solutions move from research and local insight to scalable implementation.

Together, the partners aim to catalyse locally relevant solutions that strengthen sustainable food systems and improve livelihoods in East Africa.

Nurturing GrowthThrough Design

What the Programme Offers

Entrepreneurship Programme

Design Thinking Training & Field Immersion

Business Training

Ecosystem Access

Programme Overview

Programme Benefits

Who Should Apply

Impact Pathways

Climate-Smart Food Production

Innovation Areas

Nutritious & Locally Sourced Meals

Innovation Areas

Clean Cooking Solutions

Innovation Areas

Country-Specific Calls

Regional Focus

Partner with Us

About the Implementing Partners

Nurturing Growth
Through Design