In Madagascar, one in every two children is affected by malnutrition. GRET has been working for almost thirty years in the country to combat malnutrition. In 2013, GRET created the Nutri’zaza social business.
Nutri’zaza has a dual objective: on the one hand to develop and distribute fortified foods, and on the other hand to raise families’ awareness on food and hygiene practices.
In 2019, almost 50 % of Malagasy children aged between 6 and 24 months had chronic malnutrition, i.e. 900,000 children. The sequels are irreversible after the age of two, and chronic malnutrition is responsible for 35 % of deaths in young children. One of the causes is the insufficient quality of young child feeding. Breastfeeding and food practices do not meet their needs, and manufactured complementary foods available on the market are generally of poor quality or unaffordable (80 % of families earn less than $1.90 per day).
Following several years of projects conducted with IRD and the University of Antananarivo, in 2013 GRET and four partners (Malagasy producer TAF, SIDI, the APEM association and Investisseurs et Partenaires), created an innovative social business called Nutri’zaza with the support of Agence française de développement (AFD) and the GRET support fund.
Nutri’zaza is working to improve the nutritional status of young Malagasy children by promoting maternal and child feeding and hygiene practices, and by developing and distributing fortified products. One of its flagship products is “Koba Aina” (“flour of life” in Malagasy), a food to complement breastmilk for children aged between 6 and 24 months, made by Malagasy business TAF using local raw materials. “Koba Aina” is affordable, and suited to young children’s nutritional needs and the population’s practices.
Nutri’zaza sells its fortified products via a diverse and complementary distribution network that includes:
From the time it was set up until late 2019, the Nutri’zaza social business sold 56 million meals and created almost 160 jobs (facilitators, salespeople…).
Today, the Nutri’zaza social business plans to extend its sales network to other cities in order to make fortified foods available to 15,000 children every day, compared to 8,500 children currently. By producing larger quantities and generating large-scale savings, Nutri’zaza will strengthen its economic model and will be financially autonomous.
In addition, the social business intends to invest more in research and development in order to remain competitive by improving the Koba Aina porridge, which currently requires particular attention during cooking.
Nutri’zaza also intends to diversify its products: the Aina cereal bar was developed and put on the market in collaboration with Chocolaterie Robert at the start of 2020, providing a fortified mid-afternoon snack for children over the age of 3.
