Nigeria's Flour Mills backs cassava-cheese startup with $7,600 grant

What's the deal? Kiyoko Foods, a Nigerian startup that converts cassava into nutrient-rich cheese balls, won a 10,000,000 NGN (about $7,600) grant from Flour Mills of Nigeria. The award came through the fifth edition of the FMN Prize for Innovation, which focused on cassava production and processing.

Why now? The fifth edition drew more than 2,700 entries and produced the prize's first female winner in its five-year history: Kiyoko founder Victoria Ogwanighie. FMN chairman John Coumantaros doubled the prize money for the top three finalists to N10m, N6m, and N4m, respectively.

What's the endgame? The prize is part of FMN's long-term strategy to strengthen food security through product innovation, local content development, and investment across agricultural value chains. The food and agro-allied group operates across grains, sugar, cassava starch, feeds, edible oil, and fats, with more than 17 facilities across Nigeria.

By the numbers: Since the initiative began in 2021, FMN has invested more than N300m in 11 innovators and businesses, providing financial, technical, and strategic support. FMN said all beneficiaries recorded business growth after receiving prize money and mentorship.

Past winners have spanned solar dryers, hydroponic farming, waste-to-biogas conversion, and livestock innovation. Runners-up in the cassava edition included PNeedlesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which turns cassava peels into plant-based leather, and Bach and Moen, which builds cassava processing hubs for smallholder farmers.

The signal: Corporate-backed grants remain a key funding route for early-stage African agtech, where venture capital is thin. By steering small awards toward cassava and food-waste ventures, FMN is betting on domestic processing to cut import reliance and build what it calls "sustainable food systems" across Africa.

Read more: punchng.com

Image credit: CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture