Fast-forward from Cape Town (there are no words to describe...) to my new job in D.C., which has already sent me to several very interesting lectures on topics of interest to the non-profit community.
Last Friday, I attended a forum titled 'PepsiCo. and the World Food Programme (WFP): A Public-Private Partnership to Transform Nutrition Across Africa', and was inspired by the observations made by the representatives from these unlikely partners. As MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprise) enthusiasts, non-profit workers might be inclined to mistrust multi-billion dollar corporations, perhaps even more so when they claim to incorporate humanitarian acts into their business model. The forum last week, however, put my former perspective into perspective: perhaps PepsiCo. will be part of the solution instead of the problem.
The non-profit sector is full of do-gooders who can hardly afford to buy a bottle of 3-buck chuck at Trader Joe's, including yours truly, while Pepsi and the like are lining their pockets with currencies from all over the globe. But what if there was a way (and more importantly, a will) to use the incredible resources that companies like Pepsi have at their fingertips to make a serious dent in global hunger? With developed world markets becoming increasingly saturated, the movers and shakers at the top of the capitalist food chain are naturally looking toward new markets, and what better a consumer base than the hungriest people in the world.
In Ethiopia, as in most African nations, a large percent of children do not have consistent access to the nutrients they need to become healthy energetic adolescents and subsequently adults who can participate effectively in global economies. Certain nutrient rich, locally produced foods are already a part of the diet and culture and could be the key to improving nutrition from the ground up. Well aware of this, the World Food Programme (WFP) has recruited one such legume to be the star player in their newest campaign: the humble chickpea. This little nitrogen-fixing plant has begun to make a name for itself around the globe, as dedicated carnivores have found a taste for hummus and Indian food is all the rage in cities, but it's always been important to Ethiopia. This year WFP developed a sweetened chickpea-milk compound packaged individually and targeted at malnourished youth that could not be better suited to local demand, and Ethiopian leaders and farmers are simply ecstatic to start manufacturing and distributing the product locally. This is where Pepsi comes in.
Anticipating the concerns of many audience members at the forum, the WFP representative warned us that there's really no reason to be surprised or alarmed that Pepsi may have motivations beyond the humanitarian for investing in this project as this means they are incentivized to see the project through. Because their investment depends on it, Pepsi worked to ensure that the product stays at price-point so as not to become irrelevant, a safety net that is invaluable to WFP as they begin to promote their product, at first in Ethiopia but potentially to a much wider consumer base. Large companies will have an increasingly important role to play in global nutrition, and transparent arrangements such as this one are trail-blazing the way to a new understanding of the potential of public-private partnerships.
As the WFP representative told us, "there's so much more at stake than compassion". Feeding practices during the first 24 months of life are critical in a child's brain development, and access to this powerful package of sweetened chickpea could go a long way in improving that development. Pepsi's long term goal may be to diversify their own source for chickpeas as global demand soars, but a necessary step toward achieving that goal is supporting smallholder farms which leads to improved incomes. Ethiopian farmers have always cultivated chickpea for small-scale domestic consumption, but with Pepsi's investment and WFP's guidance, the chickpea could have a real impact on child nutrition in Ethiopia and around the world.
