Skip the noise, find what works in smallholder-inclusive business design
A single, intuitive tool that cuts through the clutter, so you can pinpoint innovations without endless digging
If you’ve ever tried to find actionable smallholder-inclusive innovations buried in dense reports and scattered in case studies, you’ll know how overwhelming it can be. In smallholder agriculture especially, countless innovations exist, and identifying the right one for your business can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. This is all too familiar.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Leveraging insights from our extensive private sector engagements, we’ve created the Innovation Library – an intuitive tool designed specifically to place practical innovations directly in your hands.
“It quickly guides you to innovations that best match your business objectives, the maturity and design of your business model, and your impact ambitions” says Kafui Adjogatse, Senior Innovation Manager, IDH.
“We have built it to give implementers their valuable time back, so they can focus on what matters.”
A decision driven by user demand
The Innovation Library was developed directly in response to user demand. Engagement with agri-based companies and support organisations in the Global South, and in part through the IDH Farmfit Africa programme (funded by the Gates Foundation and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the UK), showed companies and support organisations consistently struggled with not knowing where to begin.
Organisations needed clearer guidance in identifying entry points for improving productivity, sourcing efficiency, or reducing costs-to-serve in inclusive business models.
“We saw people overwhelmed by too much research clutter,” Adjogatse explains. “The Library addresses this by surfacing tailored solutions aligned to what your needs are, helping you make faster evidence-based decisions.”
Built on the extensive analysis of internal and external data, the Innovation Library is designed to be fit for purpose. You can toggle between high, low and medium ambition levels, providing manageable business pathways without the need for an entire business overhaul.
What the Innovation Library allows you to do
- Quickly hone in on innovations tailored to organisational capacity, business, and impact goals using a smart filter system.
- Access curated insights, backed by real-world evidence and practical 'how-to' guides, so you can replicate or adapt them easily.
- Compare innovations at different ambition levels, meaning incremental improvements are possible to start making progress.
For Carolijn Gommans, Director at IDH Intelligence, the decision to build the Innovation Library was a natural extension of IDH’s mission. “We prioritise opportunities by asking ‘How does this tie into our mission?’ Which is to show clarity on the economics of smallholder agriculture, to unlock more and smarter investments.
With a $170B investment gap in the sector, showing what works and what doesn’t provides the much-needed guidance for the private sector.”
Our team does the heavy lifting of aggregating learnings, so you don’t have to.
What’s next?
As we roll out the Innovation Library, we invite you to explore it, use it, and tell us what you think. We’re also opening space for collaboration, so partners can contribute promising smallholder-inclusive innovations.
Sign up for our Smallholder-Inclusive Business Newsletter here to stay up to date on developments.