Developing and operationalizing Business Models for Rice-Based System Innovation Bundles/Packages in West and Central Africa

Ndindeng, S.A., Nwilene, F., Bah, S., Twine, E., Tang, E., Savadogo, E., Tchatcha, D., Ndungu, J., Kittika, M., Faye, F., Dembele, A. and Konan, G. 2025. Developing and operationalizing Business Models for Rice-Based System Innovation Bundles/Packages in West and Central Africa, Scaling for Impact Program Report.Bouake, Cote d'ivoire: AfricaRice.

Activity 2.2.4.1 focused on the development and operational validation of business model concepts for integrated rice system innovation bundles, moving beyond single-technology promotion toward bundled, market-oriented delivery pathways. Implemented within the frameworks of TAAT-II, HealthyDiets4Africa (HD4A), RIZAO, and Seeds4Liberia, the activity leveraged real implementation platforms to design, test, and refine business logic across seed systems, mechanization services, post-harvest processing, and nutrition-sensitive value addition. The activity supported distinct actor categories—public seed institutions, private seed enterprises, youth-led mechanization service providers, women processing groups, and youth agribusiness hubs—by providing time bound enabling inputs (equipment, starter seed, and small capital assets), capacity building, and market exposure. These interventions allowed actors to operate the innovation bundles under real conditions, demonstrate demand for services and products, and clarify roles, value propositions, and delivery mechanisms along the rice value chain. Importantly, the focus was on operational and market feasibility, not on asserting full financial sustainability at this stage. Across the four programs, the activity resulted in the establishment and strengthening of multiple enterprise types, improved access to quality seed and mechanized services for smallholder farmers, enhanced post-harvest quality through GEM parboiling and improved milling, and expanded availability of nutrition-sensitive rice-based food products. The experience generated practical evidence on how integrated innovation bundles can function within diverse institutional and market contexts, while highlighting key cost drivers, risks, and enabling conditions. Full cost evaluation and cost-recovery analysis for the different bundle components are explicitly planned for 2026, building on the operational evidence generated under this activity. Overall, Activity 2.2.4.1 contributes to CGIAR Scaling for Impact by transforming proven rice technologies into scaling-ready system packages, strengthening investment readiness, and laying a credible foundation for sustainable scaling of rice-based innovations in West and Central Africa