O-Spoils

The agricultural industry employs 75% of the Tanzanian population but Tanzanian farmers, rarely reap the full fruits of their labor and a large part of their production goes to waste. 48% of food produced in Tanzania is spoiled before reaching consumption, equivalent to $4 billion every year.  This challenge is exacerbated by the limited ownership or access to refrigeration, which is below 20% among residents. Consequently, the city such as Dar es Salaam faces heightened waste accumulation, contributing to its notorious ranking among the world's filthiest cities,  Dar es Salaam's waste, a staggering 74% comprises organic matter, with projections indicating a rise to 11,000 tonnes per day by 2030. Despite this, many residents struggle to afford a diverse and nutritious diet, as the current cost of a basic food basket surpasses 90-150% of the income of the poorest individuals, ranging from approximately USD 15 to 25 per person.

To align with the target of limiting food expenditure to 50% or less of income, individuals should ideally not exceed USD 8 per month on food. Failure to address the issues of post-harvest loss and high food costs threatens to deny a significant portion of the population access to a balanced diet, resulting in increased waste production and greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Without intervention, a sizable population will be deprived of a planetary diet, and the repercussions of heightened waste and greenhouse gas emissions will be felt acutely by 2030.

Drawing on over 5,000 years of historical use, gum arabic sourced from acacia trees has been utilized across various industries, from cosmetics and inks to soda production and medicine. Recent research, including studies conducted by the Centre of Excellence for Post-harvest Biotechnology (CEPB) at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, has explored its potential in food preservation. Our ambitious endeavor aligns with this scientific inquiry, focusing on formulating a solution comprising 50% gum arabic and testing its efficacy on a range of fruits and vegetables. Our findings reveal that coating produce with this solution delays ripening and extends shelf life by up to 20 days without compromising quality. Given that the typical shelf life of most fruits and vegetables is only around 5 days (including transportation), our solution directly addresses the issue  of produce spoiling before reaching consumers' plates.

The edible gum Arabic solution is  cost-effective, priced at just a few cents per kilogram and also flavorless and adaptable to various produce types. With acacia trees abundantly available in Tanzania, where one tree yields approximately 30kg of gum Arabic annually, we harvest this resource from villages inthe lake zone and transport it to Dar es Salaam for production. Our production process prioritizes inclusivity and gender empowerment by employing women, while also championing environmental sustainability; since we solely require gum Arabic from tree branches, trees remain unharmed, with the gum even serving medicinal purposes by repairing branch cracks. Our plan entails planting more trees as our initiative expands.

Upon producing the solution, we collaborate with different producers, enrolling them in our O-Spoils program. Producers purchase the solution along with application and packaging equipment from us. By immersing their produce in the solution and branding them with O-Spoils stickers, they gain access to our network of retailers in Dar es Salaam. These retailers prioritize purchasing from producers in our program, recognizing the cost savings from reduced spoilage and minimized food waste, thus fostering a sustainable and efficient ecosystem across the supply chain.

1. Our primary users are fruit and vegetable producers who will utilise our gum Arabic solution to coat their produce before packing and transporting, effectively extending its shelf life. In Tanzania, where there are currently approximately 4.4 million producers, our solution addresses the pressing issue of spoilage during transportation, particularly for middle to large-scale producers who often incur significant losses. O-Spoils, producers can mitigate these losses and enhance the value of their produce through our branded stickers, appealing to retailers and ensuring steady revenue streams. 

2. In the long term, we aim to expand our reach to end-users by packaging our solution for household-level use, and offering smaller sachets for preserving half-eaten fruits and vegetables. This strategy ensures that our solution not only benefits producers but also addresses the needs of individual consumers, further solidifying its impact across the supply chain.

As food-chain-gers, our team at O-Spoils is uniquely positioned to deliver innovative solutions to challenges in post-harvest handling and food preservation. What sets us apart is our skills,  and shared passion for leveraging biotech to make a positive impact on the planet and food systems. Our team comprises diverse individuals who bring different perspectives and backgrounds to the table, allowing us to thrive in problem-solving and driving change in the industry. By working closely together in a small, agile team, we can quickly implement innovative ideas and adapt to the evolving needs of the communities we serve.

At O-Spoils, we prioritize community involvement and collaboration in the design and implementation of our solutions. Our team leader and members are deeply embedded in the target communities (farmers/producers), ensuring that our solutions are tailored to their specific needs and challenges. We actively engage with community members to gather input, ideas, and feedback, ensuring that our solutions are meaningful and relevant. Additionally, we have established a board of trusted advisors who bring valuable experience and insights from their entrepreneurial journeys, further enriching our approach to solution design and delivery. By centering the voices and priorities of the communities we serve, we ensure that our solutions are not only effective but also sustainable and empowering.

Having successfully developed our high-fidelity prototype, we've validated the efficacy of gum Arabic in extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Through rigorous experimentation conducted on tomatoes and green peppers, monitored over a span of 20 days at room temperature, we've substantiated our solution's effectiveness. Further validation was carried out with 66 farmers specializing in vegetable and fruit cultivation across Pawn, Morogoro, Moshi, and Iringa Regions. Encouragingly, our tests yielded impressive results, demonstrating spoilage prevention for over 20 days.

I am applying to Solve because we believe in its mission to address global challenges through innovation and collaboration. Solve provides a unique platform that connects Solver teams with partners who can offer both monetary and non-monetary support to advance their solutions. While fundraising is not our sole goal, we recognize that financial resources are essential to scale and sustain our impact.

As a team focused on revolutionizing post-harvest handling and food preservation using biotech solutions, we face several barriers that can help us overcome. These include financial constraints for research and development, technical challenges in optimizing our technologies, legal hurdles related to intellectual property and cultural barriers in adopting new practices, and market obstacles in reaching our target audience.

We believe that Solve can facilitate access to a network of partners, experts, and resources that can provide valuable assistance in addressing these barriers. Through mentorship, funding opportunities, access to testing facilities, legal guidance, cultural sensitivity training, and market connections, Solve can help us navigate the complexities of scaling our solution and driving meaningful change in the communities we serve. We are eager to leverage Solve's platform to propel our innovation forward and make a tangible impact on food systems and environmental sustainability.

Our solution is innovative in several ways. Firstly, we utilize gum arabic, a natural and biodegradable ingredient, to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Unlike commonly used chemicals like potassium sorbate and sorbic acid found in processed foods, gum Arabic offers a safe and sustainable alternative that aligns with consumer preferences for clean-label and eco-friendly products. Secondly, our solution incorporates a regenerative model by planting acacia trees to sustainably harvest gum Arabic. This ensures a continuous and environmentally friendly source of preservation and contributes to carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. Thirdly, we address the problem of food waste and accessibility by reducing post-harvest losses for farmers and vendors, thus increasing their income and making fresh produce more readily available to consumers. This approach has the potential to catalyze broader positive impacts by setting a precedent for sustainable food preservation practices and inspiring others in the industry to adopt similar solutions. By changing the market landscape towards more eco-friendly and socially responsible practices, our solution can drive systemic change towards a more sustainable and equitable food system

Our solution uses a special natural ingredient called gum Arabic to help fruits and vegetables stay fresh for much longer. This means that farmers and sellers can keep their produce for a longer time without spoilage. By using gum Arabic, we can reduce the amount of fruits and vegetables that get thrown away because they've spoiled. This not only saves money for farmers and sellers but also means that more fresh food is available for people to buy. Plus, by preventing food waste, we're also helping to protect the environment because less waste means fewer harmful gases released into the air. So, our solution helps farmers, sellers, and the environment by keeping food fresh for longer and reducing waste.

Impact Goals:

1. Extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables in Tanzania by at least double, from the current average of 5 days to 10 days, by 2025.
2. Reduce organic waste generated in Tanzania by 19% by 2030.
3. Ensure that the cost of preserving fruits and vegetables using our solution does not exceed 10% of the total cost of the produce, thereby increasing accessibility to healthy food for low-income households.
4. Plant and maintain at least 1,000 acacia trees annually by 2025, contributing to reforestation efforts and carbon sequestration.
5. Empower women by ensuring that at least 50% of the workforce involved in acacia tree planting and gum Arabic production are women by 2025.

Progress Measurement:

1. Average Shelf Life Extension: Measure the average shelf life extension of fruits and vegetables treated with gum Arabic compared to untreated produce, using regular monitoring and sampling techniques.
2. Organic Waste Reduction: Track the volume of organic waste diverted from landfills or waste disposal sites through the use of gum Arabic, using waste management data and surveys.
3. Cost Reduction for Consumers: Conduct household surveys to assess the percentage of household income spent on preserving fruits and vegetables before and after the adoption of gum Arabic, ensuring that it does not exceed 10%.
4. Acacia Tree Planting: Keep records of the number of acacia trees planted annually and monitor their growth and health over time, using forestry data and remote sensing techniques.
5. Gender Representation in Workforce: Maintain records of gender distribution in the workforce involved in acacia tree planting and gum Arabic production, ensuring that at least 50% are women through regular monitoring and evaluation.

Our solution harnesses the power of biotechnology to address the challenge of post-harvest food spoilage. At the core of our technology is the utilization of gum arabic, a natural ingredient sourced from acacia trees, to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Gum Arabic, also known as acacia gum, is a complex mixture of polysaccharides and glycoproteins extracted from the sap of certain species of acacia trees.

The biotechnological aspect of our solution lies in the formulation and application of gum Arabic as a natural preservative. Through our innovative process, we leverage the unique properties of gum Arabic to create a protective barrier around fruits and vegetables, thereby slowing down the rate of spoilage caused by factors such as microbial growth, oxidation, and dehydration.

Additionally, our solution incorporates other naturally sourced ingredients and additives that enhance the efficacy of gum Arabic in preserving fresh produce. These may include antioxidants, antimicrobial agents, and moisture-retaining compounds, all derived from plant-based sources.

By integrating biotechnology with traditional knowledge systems and natural ingredients like gum Arabic, our solution offers a sustainable and eco-friendly approach to reducing food waste and increasing food security. Through ongoing research and development, we continue to optimize our technology to ensure maximum effectiveness in extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, benefiting both people and the planet.

Four people are currently working on my team, two are co-founders and the other two are volunteers 

One year and are half 

We prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion within our team by fostering a culture of respect, collaboration, and openness. Our leadership team reflects a range of backgrounds and perspectives, and we plan to actively seek out candidates from underrepresented groups during recruitment and implement transparent and equitable hiring processes, and provide ongoing training and support to all team members. Our goal is to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their unique talents and perspectives. We plan to regularly assess our practices and policies to ensure that they promote diversity and minimize barriers to opportunity, and we remain committed to continuous improvement in our DEI efforts.

Our business model centers around offering a solution called O-SPOILS, which utilizes a gum-Arabic coating to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Producers purchase the gum Arabic solution from us at USD 20 for 22.5 liters, enabling them to coat 1,000 kg of produce, equivalent to one truckload. In return, we provide them with stickers, referred to as the "Badge of Honour," to label each fruit or vegetable. We establish partnerships with retailers in Dar es Salaam who exclusively purchase produce from producers displaying the O-SPOILS badge of honor. Retailers are incentivized by reducing monetary losses from spoilage, while producers benefit from guaranteed buyers for their produce. To maintain authenticity, we maintain a registry of all participating producers and utilize QR codes on the stickers for verification purposes.

Our plan for financial sustainability involves a phased approach to funding. Initially, we will engage development partners for grant funding to launch our product and cover our operational costs. This grant funding will enable us to establish our operations and bring our solution to market. As we progress through the high-fidelity prototype phase and begin generating sales, we will reinvest the proceeds from these sales into the project, allowing us to become self-sustainable. This approach ensures that we can cover our expenses while also scaling our impact. In the long term, we may consider bringing investors on board to further expand our company internationally.

To date, we have successfully secured  funding from family to support the development and launch of our product and  demonstrate the viability of our business model. As we continue to grow and scale our operations, we are confident that our revenue streams will cover our expected expenses and contribute to the long-term sustainability of our solution.