The Agribusiness Innovations and Nutrition (AIN) Theme works to accelerate the development, commercialization, and adoption of innovations that strengthen agribusinesses, improve market opportunities, and enhance food and nutrition outcomes across the drylands of Asia and Africa. The theme brings together expertise in agribusiness development, entrepreneurship, value addition, food systems, functional and community nutrition, and innovation scaling to help transform agricultural research into practical solutions that benefit farmers, farmer producer organizations, start-ups, MSMEs, agripreneurs, consumers, and rural communities.
Recognizing that scientific innovation alone is not enough to drive impact, the theme focuses on creating pathways that connect research, enterprise development, markets, and consumers.
Through partnerships with entrepreneurs, farmer organizations, private-sector actors, investors, governments, and development agencies, the theme supports the development of sustainable businesses, value chains and innovative food products that drive economic growth, create jobs, and improve public feeding and household nutrition. AIP provides a supportive ecosystem that nurtures agricultural startups, entrepreneurs, and agribusiness ventures. Through mentoring, business development services, technical support, networking opportunities, market intelligence, and connections to investors and partners, AIP helps innovators transform ideas into sustainable and scalable enterprises.
The platform works closely with research institutions, industry leaders, development organizations, government agencies, and investors to foster collaboration and accelerate the adoption of innovations that create economic, social, and nutritional benefits.
A key component of the sub-theme is the Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP), which serves as ICRISAT’s flagship innovation and agribusiness incubation initiative. Through AIP, the sub-theme supports startups, entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises, and agribusiness ventures in developing, validating, and scaling innovative products, technologies, and business models that address challenges across agricultural value chains.
The sub-theme also promotes the development and commercialization of nutritious foods, value-added products, and market-driven innovations based on dryland crops. By strengthening connections between producers, processors, markets, and consumers, the cluster contributes to more resilient food systems and greater availability of nutritious and affordable food.
Key Areas of Focus
Agribusiness development and entrepreneurship
Innovation incubation and acceleration
Commercialization of agricultural technologies
Nutrition-sensitive value chains and food systems
Food product development and value addition
Market development and business model innovation
Startup support and enterprise growth
Investment readiness and access to finance
Private-sector engagement and partnerships
Rural enterprise development and job creation
Market opportunities for nutritious and climate-resilient crops
Food processing, packaging, and commercialization
Scaling innovations for wider impact
Capacity strengthening for entrepreneurs and agribusinesses The Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) For information about incubation and entrepreneurship programs, please contact: Email: icrisat.aip@icrisat.org
