LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Food4Education, an award-winning social enterprise building a blueprint for school feeding programmes across Africa
Wawira Njiru is a Kenyan entrepreneur and visionary leader on African food systems, nutrition, philanthropy and social innovation. As Founder and CEO of Food4Education, an award-winning, locally rooted, and African-led solution to end classroom hunger, Wawira is the architect behind the blueprint to scale sustainable, nutritious, and affordable school feeding programs across Africa. Under her leadership, Food4Education has grown from a passion project that fed 25 children at its launch in 2012 to an established food industry engine that serves more than half a million children daily in Kenya, improving their nutrition and education outcomes while also creating jobs (4400 employees) and opportunities for whole communities. Featured in TIME, Bloomberg, CNN, The Guardian, BBC, Reuters and CNBC, Wawira has also received global recognition for her commitment to feed Africa’s future including the Skoll Award for Social Innovation and the Elevate Prize among others.
Lioness Weekender spoke to Wawira Njiru to learn more about her impact driven entrepreneurial journey to date, and to talk about her vision for the future.
What does your company do?
Food4Education feeds kids in schools, because hungry kids can’t learn.
Building on more than a decade of learning by doing, we’re powering a new school feeding revolution and sharing our blueprint to scale sustainable, nutritious, and affordable school feeding programs across Africa. Today, we serve half a million kids DAILY in more than 1300 schools across 10 counties in Kenya.
But every day, we deliver more than a meal – improving nutrition and education outcomes for children while also creating jobs and opportunities for whole communities. We are an experienced and trusted non-profit partner that operates with the excellence of a global business, reinvesting the value we create into local economies.
Hungry kids can’t learn.
Hunger robs children’s dignity and potential and impacts their physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Hungry children tend to start schooling later, attend school less, progress more slowly through grades, and perform poorly in the classroom. The stakes are even higher for girls: in Kenya where I’m from, girls experiencing food insecurity are 2.5x more likely to drop out of school compared to their peers. Overall, hunger is costing African economies up to 16.5% of their national GDPs per year.
Globally, School Feeding Programs (SFPs) have emerged as some of the most effective social safety nets to combat hunger. Their reach and impact make them vital solutions in wealthy nations like the United States as well as in emerging markets like Brazil and India, where they recognize investing in people – human capital – yields the greatest return on investment.
And yet, in Africa, where they’re needed the most – home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population – SFPs are few and far between. And those that do exist have a significant gap between what they promise and what they deliver. Existing programs depend on imported bulk and processed foods, leaving children with low quality, costly, unhealthy meals. These programs – while beneficial to an extent –are limited by the lack of local consideration. They largely ignore local economies, communities and context, leaving millions of children, farmers, and workers behind.
It’s one of the biggest human tragedies of our lifetime and it’s starving for action. Enter F4E -Africa’s award winning and locally rooted solution to end classroom hunger.
Building on more than a decade of learning by doing, we’re powering a new school feeding revolution and sharing our blueprint to scale sustainable, nutritious, and affordable school feeding programs across Africa. Today, we serve half a million kids DAILY in more than 1300 schools across 10 counties in Kenya.
But every day, we deliver more than a meal – improving nutrition and education outcomes for children while also creating jobs and opportunities for whole communities. We are an experienced and trusted non-profit partner that operates with the excellence of a global business, reinvesting the value we create into local economies.
What inspired you to start your company?
I grew up in Ruiru, a small community on the outskirts of Nairobi. My upbringing was humble—I lived in a house without running water or electricity—but my life was rich. Although hunger surrounded me, I never experienced it. My parents, whose lives were transformed by education, ensured that my siblings and I never missed a meal. That privilege allowed me to excel in school and pursue a world of opportunity, while many of my neighbors struggled or dropped out entirely. The weight of their lost potential inspired me to launch Food4Education 13 years ago, beginning by feeding 25 children in that same community.
What makes your business, service or product special?
At Food4Education, we are leading the charge in transforming school feeding programs with an African-led, locally rooted solution to a global problem. What makes us unique is that we’re not just serving meals—we’re preserving dignity, creating opportunities, and unlocking Africa’s potential. Our approach goes beyond feeding children; it's about equity, sustainability, and investing in the future of our continent.
Our solution has had more impact on communities and livelihoods in a way I could not have imagined. Hundreds of thousands of farmers now access a direct, dependable market for their fresh produce. By distributing over 200 tons of food daily, we have significantly impacted Kenya’s economy, creating jobs and stable incomes.
Through strategic investments in technology like Tap2Eat, smart logistics, and strong local partnerships, we’ve built a scalable solution that provides children with hot, nutritious, and affordable meals daily. By 2030, we aim to reach 3 million children across three countries, all while supporting smallholder farmers, creating jobs, and driving climate-conscious innovations.
We’ve also made a commitment to a healthier planet, investing in clean cooking technologies and solar energy. Our flagship ‘Giga Kitchen,’ Africa’s largest clean-cooking facility, uses steam powered by eco-briquettes to prepare 60,000 meals at a time in Nairobi County.
Tell us a little about your team
Food4Education employs over 4,300 people—50% of whom are parents and 78% women—while also supporting thousands of businesses within local supply chains. Our team is deeply committed to creating a sustainable and impactful solution to classroom hunger.
What makes our work even more meaningful is seeing how we’ve come full circle over the years. I love hearing from the children we once fed—many have now graduated college, and some have even joined our team. It’s heartwarming to see these young adults return, whether by helping us feed other children or working in our kitchens and call centers. Some even reach out to share how the school meals they received helped them complete their education. These unexpected stories serve as powerful reminders of our impact, reinforcing the sense of community we’re building—one that continues to give back.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I grew up in Ruiru, a small community on the outskirts of Nairobi. My upbringing was humble—I lived in a house without running water or electricity—but my life was rich. Although hunger surrounded me, I never experienced it. My parents, whose lives were transformed by education, ensured that my siblings and I never missed a meal. That privilege allowed me to excel in school and pursue a world of opportunity, while many of my neighbors struggled or dropped out entirely.
The weight of their lost potential inspired me to launch Food4Education 13 years ago, beginning by feeding 25 children in that same community.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
In October 2024, we launched our pan-African vision and strategy: A blueprint for school feeding that is cost-effective, locally rooted and sourced, and nutritious. We will feed 3 million kids in 3 countries by 2030 daily via a three-pronged approach:
Double our impact in Kenya to feed 1 million children daily by 2027.
Work with 2 additional African countries to feed 2 million more by 2030: Leverage our experience linking local supply chains, engaging parents and strengthening communities to cross new borders of impact, providing technical advice and supporting governments to localize, scale, and operationally improve their school meals programs.
Share what we know through a Center of Excellence: Throughout Africa there is an ecosystem of actors with a varied range of school feeding experience. We’ve learned by doing and we now want to pay it forward, expanding opportunity and developing the school feeding ecosystem across Africa.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Africa is the world’s youngest continent, brimming with energy, ideas, and innovation. Today, 22% of working-age Africans are entrepreneurs, and our continent boasts the highest proportion of women entrepreneurs globally. This rising entrepreneurial spirit is driving businesses that solve societal problems, provide vital services, and fuel local economies.
Over the last two decades, Africa has seen steady improvements in life expectancy, per capita income, and access to education. A child born in Africa today has a better chance of living longer, avoiding extreme poverty, receiving a primary education, and joining a growing economy than ever before.
Yet, challenges remain. Millions of children still go to school hungry, and malnutrition rates are unacceptably high. Our path forward relies on homegrown innovation and African ingenuity. As an entrepreneur, there’s no greater satisfaction than being part of this transformative journey, creating solutions that empower communities and shape a brighter future for Africa.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
As an African founder, you’re building for the world. By 2050, 25% of the global population will be in Africa, and by 2100, it will be 50%. The solutions we create today will shape the future of the world.
Building in and for Africa often means creating new systems while delivering a tailored solution. That requires a deep understanding of every part of the value chain. While this complexity can be challenging, it also fuels creativity and forces us to think holistically. The return—both in financial results and social impact—is worth it.
Keep going. Learning by doing means you’ll make mistakes but push forward. And never go it alone—leverage people and partnerships as much as you can.
To find out more, send an email to derrick@aeqglobal.com or visit the website and social media platforms:
Website: http://food4education.org/about/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/food4education/
Twitter: http://x.com/food4education/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/food4education/
