Introducing the Solutions Index: Food Security & Nutrition Edition
Highlighting 25 leading innovators building the future of global food systems
Dear Unlock Aid community,
Today, we’re proud to announce the second edition of the Unlock Aid Solutions Index, a curated directory of proven, pacesetting organizations tackling some of the world’s most pressing development challenges.
This edition highlights 25 leading innovators working across food security and nutrition, spanning agricultural productivity, supply chains and distribution, nutrition and school feeding, market access and finance, and digital systems.
Why we’re continuing the Solutions Index
Across global development, a new generation of organizations is delivering measurable impact at scale while building financially sustainable models.
These innovators are working through markets and alongside governments, allowing them to scale faster, operate more efficiently, and deliver stronger, longer-lasting results than many traditional approaches.
Yet as with global health, many of these organizations have emerged outside the conventional “aid” system and remain difficult for the world’s largest donors, governments, and investors to find and engage.
The Solutions Index exists to change that.
By giving decision-makers visibility into organizations already delivering results, we aim to reduce the friction of finding and partnering with proven innovators.
When these innovators succeed, they do more than deliver impact. They demonstrate that a different model is possible – one built on sustainability, local ownership, and real results.
This moment matters. The global development system continues to undergo a once-in-a-generation shift. The future will not be defined only by how much funding is deployed, but by who that funding reaches and whether it supports solutions that are built to last.
Introducing the Food Security & Nutrition Solutions Index
This edition focuses on food systems and nutrition, one of the most urgent and foundational challenges facing countries today.
Food systems determine:
Whether farmers can sustainably increase productivity and incomes
Whether nutritious food is affordable and accessible to families
Whether supply chains can reduce loss and reach the last mile
Whether countries can build resilience to shocks and crises
Following a competitive review process, our Expert Review Committee selected 25 organizations from a strong pool of dozens of applicants working across food systems.
Reviewers evaluated organizations across criteria including:
Demonstrated impact and measurable outcomes
Organizational maturity and absorptive capacity
Financial sustainability and revenue diversification
Local endorsement and country alignment
Clear pathways to scaling cost-effectively
Note on organizations working in humanitarian contexts: Our Expert Review Committee noted that operating a sustainable business model in acute humanitarian settings presents unique challenges, especially where markets or governments may be unstable or not exist. These factors were considered during a holistic review process.
Explore the Food Security & Nutrition Solutions Index
Read about the Food Security and Nutrition innovators in our Solutions Index.
→ Click here to view the original call for applications and evaluation framework
Want to see our first edition of the Solutions Index focused on health pacesetters? Click here.
Our Gratitude to the Expert Review Committee
This edition of the Solutions Index would not exist without the rigor, judgment, and expertise of our Expert Review Committee. Their insights and deliberation shaped the final cohort and ensured a high bar for inclusion.
Thank you to:
John R. Tyson, Board Member and Strategy Committee Chair, Tyson Foods
Amit Paley, CEO, Malnutrition Advocacy Fund; President for Global Advocacy and Philanthropy, Eleanor Crook Foundation
Sam Thevasagayam, Director, Livestock Team, Agriculture Development, Gates Foundation
Euler Bropleh, Founder & Managing Partner, VestedWorld
What Comes Next
The Solutions Index will continue with one final edition in the weeks ahead.
This next and final iteration will focus on the infrastructure needed to support the next generation around the world, including areas such as education, housing, livelihoods, and digital infrastructure.
By 2050, Africa alone is projected to be home to more than 40 percent of the world’s youth. The question is not whether this generation will shape the future. It is whether the systems around them are built to help them thrive.
As countries and communities look to translate this demographic moment into long-term prosperity, foundational infrastructure will play a defining role.
For organizations working in these areas, this will be the final opportunity to be considered for inclusion in the Solutions Index.
We look forward to sharing more details soon.
The Beyond Aid Future Is Taking Shape
Across both health and food systems, the signal is increasingly clear. Countries want partners and solutions that last.
The organizations featured in this Index reflect that future, one defined by performance, sustainability, and local alignment.
Our vision is that the Solutions Index becomes a practical tool to help connect innovators and decision-makers and accelerate the shift toward a more effective and enduring model of global development.
To the organizations selected, congratulations. To those building what comes next, we see you. And to the policymakers and funders looking for a better way forward, this is where to start.
To Progress,
Unlock Aid