As calls grow louder for gender-responsive leadership across Africa’s food sector, Food Health Systems Advisory (FHSA) has officially launched two catalytic initiatives: the Young Female Food Professionals (YFP) Fellowship and the FoodPloy Workforce Platform. Together, they aim to tackle persistent technical talent gaps and equip a new generation of women to lead decisively across the food ecosystem.

Held in Lagos, the unveiling event convened stakeholders from across government, industry, development, and media to examine the structural barriers that keep women on the sidelines of food systems decision-making, despite comprising over 60 percent of the workforce.

Delivering the keynote, Managing Partner at FHSA and Convener of the launch, Vivian Maduekeh, emphasised that this moment marks the realisation of a decade-long vision to transform how women engage and lead in Africa’s food systems.

“Women are already feeding Africa, yet we often see them confined to the lowest rungs of the value chain. It’s time to show that women can be food scientists, quality assurance leaders, entrepreneurs, and public decision-makers. We cannot address hunger and malnutrition in Africa without placing women intentionally at the centre,” she said.

The Young Female Food Professionals (YFP) Fellowship, which is part of FHSA’s Advancing Nutrition Through Female-led Food Processing (ANTFem) programme, implemented in partnership with the Gates Foundation, is a one-year leadership and professional development initiative. It is designed to elevate early-career women with a strong academic foundation and demonstrated potential to lead.

From over 500 applications, just 10 fellows were selected through a rigorous process involving essays, aptitude tests, and interviews. The fellowship includes a multi-week bootcamp, field visits, technical certification, mentorship, and strategic industry placements in both large-scale factories and women-led enterprises.

Programme Lead for YFP, Chinyere Onyia, described the fellowship as a deliberate, structured response to the continued exclusion of women from high-impact roles.
“This programme is about challenging the status quo. We’re not just preparing women to be present; we’re positioning them to influence systems, shape markets, and lead innovation,” she said.

The inaugural bootcamp concluded with a showcase of the fellows’ presentations, group exercises, and a factory visit to ReelFruit. Onyia noted that the cohort demonstrated impressive adaptability, insight, and problem-solving capacity. “What we’ve done is prepare them to not only enter the sector, but to shape it,” she added.

One of the event’s key moments was the Fireside Chat featuring a leading Quality Assurance expert, Blessing Ochonogor, who praised the initiative as timely and necessary.

“We need to inspire more women to take up space in manufacturing, food processing, and regulation. The industry has been dominated for too long without intentional inclusion. This program is not just a training, it’s a signal,” she said.

Ochonogor highlighted the importance of mentorship, calling it a vital tool for equipping women not just with skills, but with the confidence and visibility to lead.

Also speaking at the event, FHSA Board Chair, Dr. Victor Ajieroh, tied the initiative to broader goals of nutrition and economic inclusion.

“Nearly 80 percent of Nigerians cannot afford a healthy diet. If we’re serious about fixing that, we must empower the women shaping the food on our plates through systems, not slogans,” he said.

Dr. Ajieroh explained that fellows will contribute meaningfully to the agrifood sector during their placements, gaining practical exposure while offering innovative thinking to the organisations they join.
The second highlight of the day was the public unveiling of FoodPloy, FHSA’s Pan-African workforce platform built to bridge the gap between skilled food professionals and employers in need of industry-ready, vetted talent.

FoodPloy Service Lead and seasoned compliance expert, Chizoma Unegbu, noted that as the food sector grows, many businesses struggle to find technically competent hires.

“FoodPloy exists to solve that problem. We’re not for everyone. We’re for food Africa’s food sector. This is a curated, structured solution to workforce challenges in the sector,” she said.

She introduced FoodPloy’s three service tiers: FoodPloy Executive for senior hires, FoodPloy Core for mid-level professionals, and FoodPloy Flex for freelancers and project-based roles.

“Whether you’re hiring for a regulatory affairs specialist, an R&D technologist, or a quality control analyst, FoodPloy connects you to the right talent, faster,” she added.
Representing the Lagos State Government, Head of Women in Agriculture and Nutrition, Justina Balogun, called the initiative both timely and transformational.

“Investing in women has a multiplier effect, from healthier households to stronger agribusinesses. FHSA and its partners are not just talking; they’re building the kind of systems we need,” she said.

She applauded the fellowship’s blend of mentorship, technical exposure, and structured placement, noting its potential to inspire broader reform in the food sector.

Through both YFP and FoodPloy, Food Health Systems Advisory is not only closing workforce gaps. It is building a pipeline of bold, capable women who are leading food systems transformation across the continent.