• IGNITE+ Expansion: Tanager is scaling its impact under the IGNITE+ Project (2024–2029) with 32 new and 6 renewed partnerships, reflecting the rising demand for gender and nutrition technical advisory services across Africa.
• Multi-sector Collaboration: Partners include governments, academia, financial institutions, the private sector, and development actors—underscoring the importance of collaboration to advance SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
• Localization for Sustainability: By working with four Local Service Providers (LSPs) in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Nigeria. IGNITE+ is strengthening their local capacity to deliver long-term gender and nutrition technical assistance, ensuring sustainability beyond the project.

In recent years, African agricultural institutions have increasingly focused on designing sustainable food systems that are inclusive, nutritious, and resilient. Tanager has been at the forefront to support these institutions to strengthen their technical capacity to mainstream gender in institutional policies, design and implement gender-sensitive and nutrition-integrated interventions in agriculture programs and develop inclusive business models.

Building on the successes of the first phase, Tanager’s  Impacting Gender and Nutrition through Innovative Technical Exchange in Agriculture Plus (IGNITE+), project aims to scale its reach and impact by supporting more African agricultural institutions to integrate gender and nutrition-sensitive approaches into their operations and agricultural interventions. At the core of IGNITE+, is partnerships with organizations dedicated to advancing gender equality and improving nutrition outcomes across Africa. This work closely aligns with SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals), which emphasises on the value of partnerships and collaboration in advancing all the 17 SDGs. In particular, IGNITE+ contributes directly to SDG 2 (zero hunger) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality) through technical assistance to a wide range of stakeholders in the agrifood sector.

 

Designing for Demand

 

Since 2018, Tanager has worked with 35 African agricultural institutions and continues to meet the growing demand from different sector players. In this new phase of IGNITE+ (2024 – 2029), Tanager is excited to announce 32 new partnerships and 6 renewed partnerships —a clear demonstration of continued demand for gender and nutrition technical advisory services.

The new partners in IGNITE+ include : Agriculture Graduates Association of Nigeria (AGAN), Agricultural Non-state Actors Forum (ANSAF), African Bio Energy programs Limited (ABPL), Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania Initiative (AGCOT), Agriculture Graduates Association of Nigeria, African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network  (AWFishNET), Association Dagnal Roobe (ADR), Association Monde Rurale (AMR), Bopinc, Caisse pour le Financement des Activites Agro-pastorales et Artisanales (CFAAA-Koundougou), Conservation International-TWENDE Project, Coris Meso Finance, Coscharis, CHC Agritech Africa Nigeria LTD, Diamond Development Initiatives, Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), Ethiopian Poultry Producers Association (EPPPA), GALVMED, Hailemariam & Roman Foundation, Kilimanjaro Dairy Cooperatives joint Enterprise Limited,    La Coopérative Diocésaine d’Epargne et de Crédit de Ouagadougou CODEC-Ouaga,  National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF),  MicroStart, Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), Nitidae, Pascal Microfinance (PAMIFI), Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), Practical Action, Réseau des Associations et Unions pour la Promotion de l’ Agro écologie dans la Boucle du Mouhoun (RAUPA), Strathmore University, TracTrac, Tree Aid, and Union des Groupements Féminins Ce Dwane Nyee (UGF-CDN).

We are also excited to renew partnerships with African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Caisse Mutuelle du Burkina Faso (CMBF), Food Health Systems Advisory (FHSA), Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT), Solidaridad East and Central Africa, and Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB).

These partners represent diverse sectors comprising of financial institutions, development partners, private sector actors, governments, and academia—underscoring the importance of multi-sector collaboration in building strong, self-reliant institutions that can deliver nutrition-sensitive, gender-integrated programs to households and small-scale producers.

Through these partnerships, Tanager aims to influence national policies for gender and nutrition integration in agricultural systems, develop inclusive financial products that drive entrepreneurship and improve livelihoods, nutrition outcomes, and gender equality for more than 2 million small-scale producers —equipping them with the tools, resources, and knowledge needed to enhance their productivity.

Collaborating for Sustainability

At the heart of IGNITE+ is localization—collaborating with six local service providers (LSPs) to deliver gender and nutrition technical assistance in a way that fosters long-term sustainability and strengthens the local capacity of these institutions. These LSPs serve both as implementing partners alongside Tanager and as future providers of continued support for agricultural institutions across the region. They include the Association of Decentralized Financial Systems of Burkina Faso (APFSD), an association of microfinance institutions in Burkina Faso; Ikore International Limited in Nigeria; Fair and Sustainable (F&S) in Ethiopia; and Tymax Agribusiness Solutions Limited in Kenya.

Tanager’s approach of strengthening the capacity of LSPs ensures a continued supply of gender and nutrition technical advisory services, which ultimately meet the demand from African agriculture institutions, contributing to sustainable food systems and boosting efforts towards Africa’s agricultural transformation.

Partnerships in Action

Through the IGNITE+ project, Tanager and its partners are laying a strong foundation for transforming Africa’s agrifood systems. These partnerships further reaffirm Tanager’s role as a thought leader and driver of change, with technical expertise in gender and nutrition integration in agriculture.

Tanager is open to new partnerships with the private sector, donors and funders, government agencies, and development partners that seek to enhance their impact on gender and nutrition through their agricultural investments. For partnerships, please email us at: Kenyainfo@tanagerintl.org