Flour Mills Launches 4th Season Of Innovation Prize In Livestock Farming

In a bid to tackle food insecurity in Nigeria, Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC (FMN), a diversified Pan-African consumer-centric food and agro-allied company, has announced the call for entries for the fourth edition of its FMN Prize for Innovation (PFI) in Livestock Farming.

Entries for the fourth season of the FMN PFI started on January 24, 2025 and are set to close on the 28th of February 2025 after a two-week extension.

The company will also hold a fireside chat on the Arise TV morning show on February 25, 2025, an opportunity for the judges from the past three seasons to share their insights, lessons, and experiences.

The past three editions explored relevant themes that spotlighted innovative businesses and SMEs within the food and agro-allied space.

Through the initiative, FMN has empowered entrepreneurs and young innovators whose groundbreaking inventions and ideas are progressively driving the nation’s quest for food security.   These success stories reinforce FMN’s role as a pioneer in building resilient food systems.

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GMD/CEO of FMN, Mr Boye Olusanya, said, “Through the FMN Prize for Innovation (PFI), the Company continues to champion Nigeria’s Food security agenda. Since inception in 2021, we have nurtured, and financially supported about eight businesses whose scale up is over 50% based on the invaluable support and resources provided to them by the Company.

“Through our consistent actions and investments in Nigeria, we have demonstrated our unwavering commitment to local content development to reduce the nation’s dependency on imported raw materials.”

Also speaking on the sustainability of the initiative, Mr. Sadiq Usman, Group Director, Strategy and Stakeholder Relations, of FMN stated: “The sustenance of the FMN Prize for Innovation is premised on the process and the passion of the team that manages the process.

“Over the years, we have established a growth-driven process that ensures that we don’t just provide financial support for the winners of the prize but also provide them with insights and mentorship that ensures that they effectively utilize the funds for their business scale up.

“More so, by associating with the brand, they also have access to a platform that gives their products/ services a certain level of credibility that attracts investors, a reward that some of our past winners testified to.”

The competition is in two categories: one for Nigerian SMEs in the agro-allied sector, with practicable, scalable innovations in livestock farming, and the second is for students, encouraging them to propose bold, forward-thinking ideas on innovations in livestock farming.

A panel of distinguished judges from the agriculture and investment sectors will select the winners. Substantial cash prizes ranging from N5 million for the top SME, N3 million, and N2 million for the first and second runners-up, respectively. In the student category, winning ideas receive financial support of N300,000, N200,000, and N100,000 for the winner, first and second runners-up respectively.

Winning participants also get the opportunity for a one-year mentorship and industry exposure to help scale their projects.

Since its inception, the FMN Prize for Innovation has played a pivotal role in advancing Nigeria’s agricultural sector. By addressing key challenges in livestock farming, this year’s edition further strengthens FMN’s mission to reduce import dependency, foster rural development, and drive economic diversification.