Tanzania | Complementary foods for child malnutrition

2026 Top Agri-food Pioneers: Simon Mnyele

Simon Gabriel Mnyele is building one of Tanzania’s most impactful and scalable nutrition enterprises to address child malnutrition at the community level. As co-founder and chief growth officer of Lishe360, he helped develop a locally rooted solution to improve access to affordable, nutritious foods for mothers and young children. Lishe360 manufactures locally sourced complementary foods, including fortified porridge flour and protein-rich nut butter designed to improve early childhood nutrition. Mnyele pioneered a model that integrates food manufacturing, last-mile distribution and caregiver education. The enterprise operates a scalable retail network reaching over 250 retailers across 26 regions while delivering free nutrition education to more than 260,000 caregivers through digital platforms. This integrated approach ensures families access nutritious foods and gain vital knowledge. Mnyele’s work advances a new model for Africa’s food systems that combines local agricultural value chains and scalable distribution.