To ensure financial viability and market access, the CANALLS focuses on co-designing sustainable business models that empower farmers to adopt agroecological strategies and gain fair value from their products. These models target consumer segments in local, regional, and international markets while incorporating tools that enhance demand and facilitate market entry for agroecological products.

The project has successfully completed 7 out of 8 focus groups, engaging over 60 key stakeholders in co-designing inclusive and sustainable business models to drive agroecological transitions in Central and Eastern Africa.

Discussions covered the full process—from training and strategy formation to value creation, along with an in-depth analysis of value propositions and an introduction to the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (TLBMC) to be used for the co-designing of the business models, which will bring CANALLS’ crops one step closer to market.

The participants shared their experiences, insights, and perspectives on agroecological practices and business model innovation, and engaged in the co-design of the business models focusing on economic, environmental, and social sustainability using the TLBMC.

The TLBMC is a strategic tool that extends the traditional business model canvas by incorporating sustainability aspects. It helps organizations design business models that consider:

Economic dimensions:

• This layer focuses on the traditional business model elements that drive economic value. It consists of nine building blocks, such as customer segments, value propositions, channels and customer relationships.

Environmental dimensions:

• This cycle looks at the impact of our agroecological practices from the beginning to the end, including raw material extraction, production, use, and disposal in order to minimize negative impacts and enhance sustainability.

Social dimensions:

• The Social Stakeholder Layer examines the impact of our agroecological business models on people and communities with the aim of ensuring that the business models are socially inclusive, fair, and beneficial to all stakeholders.

Next stop: Kabare ALL, where the focus group stage will  be concluded, bringing us even closer to the market's needs!