Innovation starts with the people who feed us
Today, 16 October, the world marks World Food Day 2026 under the theme “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.” For Inspire Decisions Consulting (IDC) and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), that theme has a clear face: the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that grow, process and sell the food Nigerian families eat every day.
These entrepreneurs are innovators by necessity. They test new products, open new farms and find new routes to market, often with limited capital and little outside support. Give them the right technical guidance, mentorship and market visibility, and they do more than survive. They grow, diversify and create jobs.
The EPIC Accelerator Programme: a partnership for food system innovation
The EPIC Accelerator Programme is delivered by IDC, with GAIN as its funding partner. Together, the two organisations have supported more than 100 food and nutrition MSMEs, and more than 10 of them have gone through significant business transformation.
The programme pairs practical training and webinars with one-to-one mentorship and business development support. It reflects a shared conviction: nutritious food reaches more people when the enterprises producing it are strong, visible and well run.
The three stories below show what that support looks like in practice.
Pentagon Farm: from one farm to three
Pentagon Farm started with a single poultry farm. Two years into the EPIC Accelerator Programme, it runs three farms and has diversified into pig and goat farming, as well as processed foods such as garri and elubo.
That shift, from one product line to a mix of livestock and staple foods, spreads risk and opens new markets. The entrepreneur credits much of this progress to the training, webinars and mentorship received through the programme.
Pentagon Farm’s growth did not happen overnight. It came from applying new knowledge season after season, adapting strategy and building capability over time. That is the kind of patient, practical innovation World Food Day celebrates.
Awari Olounje Omode Enterprise: better breakfasts for children
Led by Josephine Adesina, Awari Olounje Omode Enterprise makes cereal products for children: fruity pap, tombrown, nutty pap and oats cereal.
Good nutrition in early childhood shapes health for life, which puts businesses like this at the heart of GAIN’s mission. Through the programme, the enterprise has strengthened its business capacity and market presence, gaining visibility and good sales. Each new customer is another family with access to an affordable, locally made cereal for their children.
Eternity Stone Limited: a diverse farm in Osun State
Led by Engr. Bolaji Jegede, Eternity Stone Limited is an agro-allied and consulting firm in Osun State. It grows maize, pepper, tomato and potato, and farms fish and pigs.
That range of grains, vegetables, tubers and animal protein mirrors the variety a healthy diet needs. Supporting farms like this strengthens the supply of diverse, nutritious food in local markets, and the enterprise has seen good sales as its business has grown.
Beyond the business: jobs and stronger communities
When food enterprises grow, their communities grow with them. Awari Olounje Omode Enterprise and Eternity Stone Limited have together created approximately 5–10 new jobs, according to programme information.
Those jobs mean steadier household incomes, and steadier incomes mean families can afford better diets. A stronger MSME sector is good for business, and it is good for nutrition too.
What “innovate today” looks like on the ground
Innovation in the food system is not only about new technology. For the MSMEs in the EPIC Accelerator Programme, it looks like this:
- Diversifying production, as Pentagon Farm did by adding pigs, goats, garri and elubo to its poultry business.
- Developing nutritious products for specific needs, like Awari’s cereals for children.
- Farming for variety, as Eternity Stone does across crops, fish and livestock.
- Learning continuously through training, webinars and mentorship, then putting that learning into practice.
The lesson for IDC and GAIN is that sustained support matters. Transformation takes time, and entrepreneurs do their best work when guidance continues long enough for new ideas to take root.
Nourishing tomorrow, together
IDC is grateful to GAIN for its partnership and funding, which make the EPIC Accelerator Programme possible. The progress of Pentagon Farm, Awari Olounje Omode Enterprise and Eternity Stone Limited shows what that partnership delivers: entrepreneurs who turn knowledge into growth, jobs and better food for their communities.
This World Food Day, we invite partners, investors and policymakers to back the food and nutrition MSMEs innovating across Nigeria. Buy from them, invest in them and champion them.
At Inspire Decisions Consulting, and with our partners at GAIN, we believe that when food and nutrition MSMEs grow, they create jobs, expand opportunities and build a stronger, more resilient food system. By supporting entrepreneurs today, we help nourish tomorrow.
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