Partners in Food Solutions

What Partners in Food Solutions does

Partners in Food Solutions (PFS) is a nonprofit consortium founded in 2011 and headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, that mobilizes employee volunteers from seven major global food corporations — General Mills (founding member), Cargill, Bühler, Hershey, Ardent Mills, J.M. Smucker, and dsm-firmenich — to deliver pro-bono technical and business expertise to small and growing food processors across Africa. Its underlying platform is not a software product but a structured volunteer-matching and project-management operation: corporate employees are recruited, paired with African food companies, and deliver engagements in food safety, quality control, supply chain, operations, and business development. To date, 2,300+ volunteers have contributed 170,000+ consulting hours to 2,400+ African food companies across 11 countries, including named engagements with Vester Oils, OXY Industries, Gold Coast Foods, Sajo Farms and Rice Mills, Fursa Foods, ReelFruit, Souk Farm, Umoyo, and Powerfine.

The organization's revenue model is grant- and contribution-based rather than commercial: African processors receive services at no charge, and PFS is funded by corporate member contributions, foundation grants (Seeding The Future Foundation), and bilateral aid (USAID's AINFP program with TechnoServe). Go-to-market is community-led — direct outreach to African entrepreneurs, in-market board engagement (e.g., the first Africa board meeting in Accra, Ghana in March 2025), and partnership-led program delivery (e.g., SNV and GAIN energy efficiency RFP). Programs beyond core volunteer consulting include the PFS Apprenticeship Program, which has placed apprentices at African processors and produced career progression (e.g., an apprentice rising to Production Manager at ReelFruit), and the completed six-year Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing (AINFP) partnership.

PFS is governed by its own board including executives from member companies (e.g., General Mills CFO Kofi Bruce, Cargill VP Sarah Jelkin) and is led by CEO Mandla Nkomo, who succeeded Jeff Dykstra in 2024. In 2025, the organization launched Ambition 2033: Accelerating Capacity, a long-horizon strategy focused on growth of African food industry capacity. Current scale-commentary metrics include 2.7% projected annual growth in Ghana's agribusiness sector through 2028 and Ghana's agribusiness contributing 24.5% of national GDP, contextualizing the addressable opportunity PFS is targeting.

Name

Partners in Food Solutions

Legal name

Partners in Food Solutions

Website

https://partnersinfoodsolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Partners in Food Solutions is a nonprofit consortium founded in 2011 that deploys employee volunteers from seven global food corporations (General Mills, Cargill, Bühler, Hershey, Ardent Mills, J.M. Smucker, dsm-firmenich) to deliver pro-bono technical and business consulting to small and growing food processors across 11 African countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Food Industry Consulting

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

Keywords

• Nonprofit food consulting
• Food processing capacity
• Volunteer expertise sharing
• African agribusiness development
• Food security solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor-funded nonprofit operations: Partners in Food Solutions operates as a nonprofit organization funded by corporate partners (General Mills, Cargill, Bühler, Hershey, Ardent Mills, J.M. Smucker, dsm-firmenich) and donors. The organization does not charge African food companies for its services; instead, it provides free technical support funded by partner contributions and external donations to advance food security across Africa.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Partners in Food Solutions is a nonprofit consortium that mobilizes employee volunteers from leading global food companies (General Mills, Cargill, Bühler, Hershey, Ardent Mills, J.M. Smucker, and dsm-firmenich) to provide free technical and business expertise to small and growing African food processors. The organization offers pro-bono consulting in food safety, quality control, operations improvement, supply chain optimization, and capacity building, supported by 700+ years of combined food industry experience delivered through 170,000+ volunteer consulting hours.

Product overview

Partners in Food Solutions operates as a nonprofit consortium offering a single unified service: connecting African food companies with pro-bono technical expertise from employee volunteers at major global food corporations. The organization does not offer a software product or platform but rather provides direct consulting services through its core Expert Volunteer Consulting program, supplemented by the PFS Apprenticeship Program for workforce development and the completed Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing (AINFP) partnership program. Volunteers from General Mills, Cargill, dsm-firmenich, Bühler, The Hershey Company, Ardent Mills, and The J.M. Smucker Company contribute over 700 years of combined food industry experience to support African food processors in 11 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pro-Bono Technical Support Services for African Food Companies

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported 2,400+ African food companies across 11 countries
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• dsm-firmenichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024dsm-firmenich is a consortium member providing employee volunteers to support African food companies through Partners in Food Solutions. The partnership focuses on strengthening food processing capacity across Africa.
• SNV Netherlands Development OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024SNV Netherlands Development Organization partnered with PFS and GAIN to issue a Request for Proposals for energy efficiency and renewable energy studies in food processing companies in Nigeria and Uganda, demonstrating strategic partnership for sustainable development initiatives.
• Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024GAIN partnered with PFS and SNV Netherlands Development Organization for energy efficiency studies in nutritious food processing companies in Nigeria and Uganda, representing a strategic alliance for improving nutrition through enhanced food processing capabilities.
• TechnoServecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024TechnoServe partnered with PFS and USAID for the Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing (AINFP) program, a six-year initiative successfully completed to support inclusive and nutritious food processing in Africa.
• General MillscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011General Mills is the founding member of Partners in Food Solutions. It is one of the world's leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company provides employee volunteers who share technical and business expertise with African food companies through the PFS consortium model.
• CargillcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 150,000 people in 70 countries. Cargill provides employee volunteers to support African food processors through the PFS consortium.
• BühlercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Bühler is a global leader in process engineering, particularly production technologies and services for producing foods and manufacturing advanced materials. Bühler operates in over 140 countries and has over 10,000 employees worldwide. The company contributes volunteer experts to the PFS network.
• The Hershey CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011The Hershey Company is a global confectionery leader headquartered in Hershey, PA, known for bringing goodness to the world through its chocolate, sweets, mints and other great-tasting snacks. Hershey provides employee volunteers to support African food businesses through PFS.
• Ardent MillscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Ardent Mills is committed to transforming how the world is nourished. The company provides employee volunteers to support African food processing companies through the PFS consortium.
• The J.M. Smucker CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011The J.M. Smucker Company is inspired by more than 120 years of business success and five generations of family leadership. The company makes food that people and pets love, with portfolio of 40+ brands found in 90% of U.S. homes. Smucker provides employee volunteers to PFS.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• One Acre Fund: Nonprofit social enterprise that supplies smallholder farmers in East Africa with financing, training, and inputs to increase farm productivity. Comparable nonprofit model targeting African agricultural capacity, though focused more upstream at the farm level than PFS's processor focus.
• Farm Africa: UK-based international NGO that reduces poverty by unleashing African farmers' abilities to grow and sell more food, improve their incomes and livelihoods, and manage natural resources sustainably. Directly comparable mission supporting African food producers and processors.
• Acumen: Impact investment fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve problems of poverty across Africa and South Asia, including agriculture and food systems. Comparable nonprofit/impact model combining capital, capacity building, and African entrepreneur support.
• TechnoServe: Global nonprofit that works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. Direct partner with PFS on the AINFP program and operates a very similar model of pairing technical expertise with African food entrepreneurs.
• Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN): Global foundation focused on improving nutrition by mobilizing public-private action to end malnutrition. Strategic alliance partner with PFS on energy-efficiency studies for nutritious food processors in Africa, addressing the same African food-processing capacity gap.
• Root Capital: Nonprofit agricultural impact investor that provides capital and capacity-building advisory to small and growing agricultural businesses in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Highly comparable nonprofit model supporting African food enterprises with both expertise and financial services.
• Self Help Africa: International development NGO working with rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa to increase household income and improve food security through agricultural enterprise development. Directly comparable African food-system capacity-building mission.
• SNV Netherlands Development Organization: International development NGO operating across Africa and Asia with a strong focus on sustainable agriculture, food security, and inclusive business. PFS's 2024 partnership with SNV on energy-efficiency RFPs in Nigeria and Uganda makes them a directly comparable capacity-building peer.

Broad incumbents

• Heifer International: Large international nonprofit working to end hunger and poverty through sustainable agriculture and livestock programs supporting smallholder farmers globally, including significant African operations. A broader incumbent operating in adjacent food-system capacity building.
• Mercy Corps AgriFin: Global humanitarian and development organization with significant African food-security and agricultural-market programs through its AgriFin initiative. A broader incumbent that overlaps with PFS in building African agricultural value-chain capacity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pfscommunity
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCzEgOW4h5tMJs65eMsMtGng?feature=watch
• Facebookfacebook.com/PartnersinFoodSolutions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/partners-in-food-solutions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Partners in Food Solutions