For immediate release

MUNICH, 11 OCTOBER 2024 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the food services technology company Nilus strengthen partnership in Peru to reach more than 150,000 people with healthy food and groceries through 2,500 community kitchens, government-supported canteens and restaurants serving low-income communities in Lima by 2028.

As part of a strategic partnership with WFP, UNDCF will provide a local currency loan to the food services company Nilus, that will catalyse more than 2X in additional impact-aligned capital from private investors. The loan agreement was signed on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, between UNCDF Executive Secretary, Pradeep Kurukulasuriya and Ady Beitler, Co-founder and CEO of Nilus. The loan agreement was signed on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, between UNCDF Executive Secretary, Pradeep Kurukulasuriya and Ady Beitler, Co-founder and CEO of Nilus.

“This is a milestone in our strategic financing partnership with WFP and a true demonstration of UNCDF’s unique added value as an investment fund within the UN development system architecture,” said UNCDF Executive Secretary Pradeep Kurukulasuriya. “With this local currency transaction, we are pleased to see the transformative potential of development finance improving food systems for low-income communities in Peru.”

The loan contributes to a continuum of development finance support across multiple UN agencies stemming from 2022, when the WFP Innovation Accelerator provided Nilus with early-stage funding for a business model that focuses on making healthy diets more affordable in Peru. Nilus, a pioneering food systems technology company, operates as a digital retailer for underserved populations, leveraging a mobile e-commerce app and logistics technology to reduce the cost of access to healthy food. By consolidating orders from low-income people, Nilus connects them with essential products at discounted prices, achieving significant savings for consumers, including community kitchens, schools and families. The pilot demonstrated Nilus' capacity to serve communities in food deserts, enabling those in need to save approximately 24 percent on food costs and an additional 6 percent on transportation.

"Our collaboration with Nilus marks a pivotal step in transforming Peru's food systems. Through innovative finance, we are building a foundation to transform the lives of vulnerable communities, ensuring that those who need it most have access to sustainable solutions", said Alex Robayo, WFP Deputy Country Director in Peru.

This loan is provided under the WFP Innovation BRIDGE Facility, a strategic partnership between UNCDF and WFP which is hosted on UNCDF’s balance sheet. It will help Nilus in becoming a financially sustainable business with the capacity to transform food systems to serve local populations.

"WFP Innovation BRIDGE is committed to fostering innovative solutions that disrupt hunger and contribute to the Zero Hunger agenda," said Jorge Fernandes, Head of Innovative Finance and Frontiers Innovation at WFP. "Our work with them marks the start of our journey to catalyse impact in food systems, particularly in vulnerable communities, through innovative finance mechanisms.”

Launched jointly by WFP and UNCDF during UNGA 2023, WFP Innovation BRIDGE is designed to scale innovations that combat hunger. The Facility uses flexible, concessional loans and guarantees to make the most of available grant funding to support impact-driven businesses aiming to scale. This reduces risks for other investors and encourages more investment. WFP Innovation BRIDGE invests globally, leveraging WFP’s presence in over 120 countries and territories.

"We are extremely grateful to WFP and UNCDF for this support. Working alongside WFP is our best collaboration in the fight against hunger, and we trust that, together, we will create lasting impact among Peruvian low-income communities. It is an honor to pioneer the WFP Innovation BRIDGE Facility," said Nilus Co-founder and CEO, Ady Beitler.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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ABOUT THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP) INNOVATION ACCELERATOR

The WFP Innovation Accelerator was established by the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme in 2015 to source new ideas, sprint pilot projects, and scale high-impact innovations by connecting them with WFP’s global network and field operations in over 120 countries and territories. From its base in Germany, the WFP Innovation Accelerator has grown to become one of the world's leading social impact startup accelerators. In 2023, the WFP Innovation Accelerator ran 14 programmes addressing a wide range of social impact and sustainability issues, including climate change, primary healthcare, gender equality, and emergency response with the support of WFP regional innovation hubs and country office innovation teams, portfolio ventures and its partners. Its portfolio, comprising over 70 active innovations and 66 alumni innovation initiatives, reached over 60 million individuals across 70 countries and territories in 2023. Since its launch, innovations supported by the WFP Innovation Accelerator have secured over USD 295 million in grant funding. The WFP Innovation Accelerator has been named as one of the ‘Best Workplaces for Innovators’ (2020, 2021, 2024) and an ‘Innovation Team of the Year’ (2020) by Fast Company, for ongoing work in sourcing, nurturing, and scaling innovative start-ups focused on reducing global hunger.

Learn more about us at innovation.wfp.org.

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For more information please contact:
Lucy Bloxham, WFP/Munich, lucy.bloxham@wfp.org

ABOUT THE UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (UNCDF)

UNCDF mobilizes and catalyzes an increase in capital flows for SDG impactful investments to Member States, especially Least Developed Countries, contributing to sustainable economic growth and equitable prosperity.

In partnership with UN entities and development partners, UNCDF delivers scalable, blended finance solutions to drive systemic change, pave the way for commercial finance, and contribute to the SDGs. We support market development by enabling entities to access finance in high-risk environments by deploying financial instruments, mechanisms and advisory.

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For more information, please contact:
Cheryl Haines, UNCDF: cheryl.haines@undp.org