The Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) Challenge aims to convert seed-level innovative agricultural ideas that are meeting resilience needs in East Africa and scale them to sustainable business ideas of interest to private investors and funders. RAIN is supported by the Shockwave Foundation and the Munich Re Foundation.
23 seed level initiatives have been chosen to participate in RAIN Challenge Round 2 and will receive mentorship support over the next several months and participate in a leadership academy. After the initial mentorship period and leadership academy, winners will be selected.
Meet the shortlisted candidates
For-Profit Projects:
Project: Harvesting Prosperity: Empowering Smallholders and Elevating Incomes through a Climate-Smart Marketplace
Organisation: Shambabetter LLC
Country: Kenya
The team will work with coffee farmers around Ruiru as well as providers of climate smart solutions to develop a marketplace feature on the farmbetter app incorporating a WhatsApp chatbot and test and implement it with the farming community and their advisers.
Project: Climate-Smart Agriculture Adaptation in Zanzibar Islands
Organisation: Aatif Aquaponics Limited
Country: Zanzibar, Tanzania
The project team aims to increase their 1000 m2 hydroponics farm to a one-acre farm, adapting smart farming methods of hydroponics and aquaponics, converting rocky lands to large-scale production, reducing water usage to 10% and increasing employment of women and youth.
Project: Empowering Smallholder Farmers through a merger of Marine and Agricultural Innovative Technology
Organisation: Coastal biotech
Country: Zanzibar, Tanzania
The project team will utilise seaweed from Zanzibar to provide agricultural solutions through a combination of bio stimulant and biochar. After harvesting seaweed, bio stimulants are made by fermenting the seaweed extract. Then the biomass that remains is carbonised to produce biochar, this locks in the carbon dioxide for up to 100 years. Bio stimulants and biochar reduce the need for chemical fertilisers while still boosting yields.
Project: Arid and Semi-arid Lands business incubator initiative through Kenya Arid Lands Value Chains Initiative (KAVADI©)
Organisation: African Agency for Arid Resources (AGAR)
Country: Kenya
The Kenya Arid Lands Value Chains Initiative (KAVADI©) is a capacity-building initiative dedicated to helping communities in arid and semi-arid areas of Eastern Africa in utilising Non-Wood Forest Products (NWPFs). This involves training local communities in sustainable harvesting techniques for gum Arabic and other resins like myrrh and frankincense and promotes the cultivation of Aloe secundiflora, providing the necessary equipment and materials.
Project: Africa Eco-Soil Project
Organisation: African Harvest Enterprises (T) Limited
Country: Tanzania
This is a climate-smart manufacturing project that deploys an innovative waste up-cycling technology to convert bio-degradable organic waste into useful organic propagating solutions for farmers in Tanzania.
Project: Ambara Milk
Organisation: BOAT Uganda
Country: Uganda
BOAT Uganda has developed a new plant-based milk called Ambara Milk, made from Bambara Groundnut, a nutrient-rich, climate-resilient legume that can grow on poor, dry soils without the need for fertilisers and pesticides.
Project: CropScan Solar
Organisation: CropScan Technologies
Country: Kenya
CropScan is the world’s first-ever solar-powered AI-Based Fertilizer Application Advisory Device that was invented by a Kenyan computer scientist and innovator. It can scan any crop leaf and within two seconds, determine the nutrients that are lacking in the crop and the type and determine the fertiliser the farmer should apply.
Project: Tanzania Reforestation and Organic Farming Program
Organisation: Vegrab Organic Farming LTD
Country: Tanzania
The program Intends to promote organic farming and reforestation in Tanzania’s western zone regions by providing youth and women smallholder farmers with horticulture seeds and seedlings, organic fertiliser at lowest costs, and field technical consultation.
Project: Ablenee Green Ammonia Production
Organisation: Ablenee Energy Solutions
Country: Ethiopia
Ablenee provides a nature-positive fertiliser solution by utilising cutting-edge water electrolysis technology to produce green hydrogen feedstock in place of the carbon-intensive steam methane reforming process.
Project: Amaly Legacy Magic Compost Tea
Organisation: Amaly Legacy
Country: Tanzania
Amaly’s solution, developed with MIT scientists, introduces a cost-effective, scalable, and highly effective alternative to synthetic fertilisers: Amaly’s magic formula compost tea. This solution addresses the critical challenges of Tanzanian smallholder cashew farmers: poverty, low productivity, and soil degradation.
Non-Profit Projects:
Project: Unlocking Small Holder farmers Efficiency and Resilience to climate change in Kenya (USHER-Kenya)
Organisation: Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International
Country: Kenya
Africa Harvest will leverage 21 years of experience in technology and innovation scaling to address the weak research-extension linkage by establishing village innovation hubs that bring together indigenous and modern farming technologies to deliver transformative regenerative agricultural practices needed to tackle climate change related challenges.
Project: Incentivising Sustainability: Pathways to Resilience in Coffee Agroforestry
Organisation: Solidaridad East and Central Africa Expertise Centre (Solidaridad)
Country: Tanzania
This project targets small-scale coffee cultivation by aligning food security and farmer well-being with farmer resilience utilising nature-based solutions such as implementing agroforestry and regenerative practices. They also promote carbon capture, biodiversity, and ecosystem health to attract private investment through voluntary carbon markets.
Project: Enhancing the climate resilience of smallholder farmers through a tree-based system
Organisation: Help Self Help Centre
Country: Kenya
This project offers a climate-resilient, tree-based livelihood system focused on producing forest-based essential oils.
Project: Regenerative Agriculture for healthy watershed and fisheries in Lake Victoria, Kenya
Organisation: Conservation International
Country: Kenya
This project aims to facilitate regenerative agriculture that focuses on improving soil health and water retention through methods including crop rotation and reduced ploughing while improving crop productivity for multiple benefits; soil and water conservation, improved farm yields and household income and fisheries conservation.
Project: Ukulima bora, Mazingira bora project
Organisation: Chyullu Development Foundation C.B.O.
Country: Kenya
This project is a livelihoods transformation program that intends to introduce modern technologies in apiculture, ecosystem conservation and regenerative agriculture innovation.
Project: Building climate-resilient livelihoods and reducing postharvest food loss with affordable solar-powered dryer
Organisation: MAVUNOLAB (The Postharvest Innovation Centre)
Country: Tanzania
This project will deploy a low-cost solar-powered dryer developed by MAVUNOLAB to help small-scale fish processors and farmers in off-grid locations in Tanzania avoid post-harvest food losses.
Project: Geospatial Mapping for Conservation in Mobile Communities
Organisation: Wote Margin Tanzania – No Taka Hub
Country: Tanzania
The project will use geospatial data technology to evaluate the impact of climate change on migration patterns and refugee populations in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp and host communities areas.
Project: Transforming coffee waste into sustainable resource
Organisation: Gate for Opportunity (GO)
Country: Ethiopia
The project will use innovative vermicomposting solutions to create nutrient-rich bio-fertilizers from coffee waste processing, crucial for the organic coffee market of Ethiopia.
Project: RETFARMERS GL
Organisation: AGRICORE
Country: Burundi
RETFAMERS GL is a Regional Training for farmers of the Great Lake countries (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and DRC) on climate and peace. The program aims to train small farmers of the Great Lakes countries in new farming techniques which are included in three modules: (1) soil fertility management techniques, (2) crop techniques for beans, maize, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, and peanuts, and (3) techniques to combat diseases and pests.
Project: BioShield-FAW: Fungal Biopesticide for Fall Armyworm Control
Organisation: Egerton University
Country: Kenya
BioShield-FAW is a nature-positive project that harnesses the power of indigenous fungi in Kenya to develop biopesticides against the devastating Fall Armyworm (FAW).
Project: Planting and Management of Indigenous Tree Species for Non-Timber Forest Products
Organisation: Inclusive Small Firms Africa (ISFA)
Country: Kenya
The project will work with women-led farmer groups to restore landscape, conserve soil and water, manage soil fertility, support selected local tree nurseries, support the production and marketing of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and support pasture/fodder production, conservation and utilisation.
Project: Trans-Harmony Farms
Organisation: Initiative of Trans with a Mission-Uganda
Country: Uganda
This project aims to empower rural transgender individuals in Uganda through sustainable agriculture, using agro ecological methods, community greenhouses, and permaculture training.
Project: Zowasel Carbon and Biodiversity Program
Organisation: Zowasel Company
Countries: Tanzania and Kenya
The project aims to increase the adoption of regenerative agriculture models by solving two main challenges of awareness and declining farm profitability. Their measurement reporting and verification technology provides a road map and forecast of the amount of money farmers would earn by carbon removal credits.