One Acre Fund
One Acre Fund is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides smallholder farmers in Africa with agricultural inputs, financing, training, crop insurance, and market support.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
One Acre Fund is a nonprofit social enterprise focused on improving the productivity, resilience, and incomes of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The organization was founded by Andrew Youn after he visited western Kenya in 2005 and spoke with farmers who struggled to produce enough food from small plots of land. One Acre Fund began operating in Bungoma, Kenya, in February 2006 with 38 farm families and developed a market-based model intended to address several constraints at once: limited access to quality seed and fertilizer, lack of affordable agricultural finance, inadequate technical training, exposure to drought and crop disease, and weak access to profitable markets. Its core program combines an asset-based loan with the distribution of farm inputs, practical agricultural training, crop insurance, and assistance with selling or storing harvests. A typical package has included improved seed and fertilizer, with the organization’s field officers working through village-based farmer groups. Farmers attend regular meetings, receive guidance during the growing season, and repay flexibly in increments rather than through a single rigid payment. The organization has described the average annual percentage rate on its loan as approximately 18 percent, while the typical service bundle has been valued at about US$80. Additional products and services, including solar lights and reusable sanitary pads, have also been made available to participating farmers on credit. One Acre Fund operates through locally staffed field networks and adapts its programs to national and regional agricultural conditions. Its work has expanded from Kenya to Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, and Ethiopia. In addition to its full-service farmer program, the organization has pursued targeted interventions such as agroforestry, input access, and other services intended to reach farmers who may not participate in the complete loan-and-training package. In 2022, it reported serving more than four million farm families, including approximately 1.5 million through its full-service program and 2.4 million through targeted interventions. Full-service clients were reported to have a 96 percent loan repayment rate. The organization presents its approach as financially disciplined but not purely commercial. Farmer repayments covered 77 percent of field operating costs in 2020, although that calculation excluded research and development, pilots, government relations, monitoring, fundraising, and other organization-wide costs. One Acre Fund also emphasizes sustainable intensification and land management. Its training has included composting, more efficient fertilizer use through micro-dosing, and agroforestry. Farmers associated with its programs planted more than 24 million trees in 2020, according to the organization’s cited reporting. One Acre Fund has received support from philanthropic and impact-investment institutions, including Echoing Green, the Draper Richards Foundation, Mulago Social Investments, the Pershing Square Foundation, the Skoll Foundation, the MasterCard Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Swedish Postcode Lottery, and the Global Innovation Fund. It has also received recognition from the Financial Times and IFC, the New York Times, and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Its profile has been further increased by journalism and books examining the lives of smallholder farmers and the organization’s field operations. The organization’s positioning combines agricultural extension, microfinance-like input financing, supply-chain support, and social-impact programming. It is not primarily a consumer agricultural brand; rather, it is a service platform working with rural households, community groups, governments, funders, and agricultural suppliers. Its central objective is to help smallholder farmers increase food security and farm income while reducing the risks associated with weather, disease, price volatility, and limited working capital.
History
One Acre Fund emerged from Andrew Youn’s interest in the persistent food and income constraints faced by smallholder farmers. During a visit to western Kenya in August 2005, Youn interviewed farmers who described an annual hunger period and difficulty feeding their households from roughly one acre of land. While completing his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, he developed a business plan for a market-oriented organization that would help farmers obtain productive inputs and knowledge while spreading repayment across the agricultural season. The organization launched in Bungoma, Kenya, in February 2006. Its first cohort consisted of 38 farm families. Rather than treating seed, fertilizer, credit, training, and market access as separate problems, One Acre Fund designed a bundled service. Farmers joined village groups supported by local field officers. The officers coordinated input delivery, conducted agricultural training, helped administer loans, and collected repayments. The model was intended to reduce transaction costs and make formal agricultural finance more practical for households that lacked conventional collateral. The early organization received recognition and seed funding from social-enterprise networks. In April 2006, it won the social entrepreneurship category of the Yale 50K Business Plan Competition and the Social E-Challenge organized by Stanford’s Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students. In May of that year, Youn received an Echoing Green Fellowship, allowing him to work full time on the initiative. Matthew Forti became the founding board chair, John Gachunga joined as a co-founder in 2006, and Eric Pohlman joined as a co-founder in 2007. One Acre Fund subsequently expanded its operating footprint across East Africa and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Its listed country programs include Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, and Ethiopia. Expansion involved adapting crop packages, farmer-group structures, training, repayment arrangements, and market activities to local conditions. The organization continued to use a combination of philanthropic capital, farmer repayments, and institutional partnerships rather than relying solely on commercial lending revenue. The organization’s financial model has been described as partially self-financing at the field level. In 2020, farmer repayments reportedly covered 77 percent of field operating costs, though the calculation excluded several central and developmental expenses. The program also incorporated crop insurance into its typical package to address drought and disease risk. In addition to core farm inputs, participating farmers could access selected products such as solar lights and reusable sanitary pads on credit. Environmental and resilience activities became an important part of the model. One Acre Fund promoted sustainable intensification, composting, careful fertilizer application, and agroforestry. Its reported tree-planting activity exceeded 24 million trees in 2020. The organization also responded to the spread of maize lethal necrosis in western Kenya in 2013 by encouraging affected farmers to consider millet and sorghum. The recommendation was initially unpopular among some farmers because maize is central to Kenyan food culture and to dishes such as ugali. Later accounts emphasized that alternative grains could offer more stable prices and reduce the need to hold maize until a seasonal price peak. One Acre Fund’s public profile grew through grants, awards, journalism, and books. It received support from the Draper Richards Foundation, Mulago Social Investments, the Pershing Square Foundation, the Skoll Foundation, the MasterCard Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Swedish Postcode Lottery, and the Global Innovation Fund, among others. It received Financial Times/IFC recognition for basic-needs financing in 2010 and 2011. Roger Thurow’s 2012 book, The Last Hunger Season, followed four Kenyan farmers associated with the organization, while later reporting in The Guardian and The New York Times examined its field work and broader African agricultural development. By 2022, One Acre Fund reported reaching more than four million farm families through a combination of full-service and targeted programs. The full-service program served approximately 1.5 million families, while targeted activities such as agroforestry reached about 2.4 million. Reported loan repayment among full-service clients was 96 percent. In 2022 the organization won the New York Times Holiday Impact Grand Prize, and in 2023 it received the Hilton Humanitarian Prize. Alongside this recognition, it faced criticism over a lengthy and confusing recruitment process in Kenya; the organization rejected allegations that it was harvesting applicant data but acknowledged the need to improve hiring practices.
- 2023
Hilton Humanitarian Prize
[1]The organization received the Hilton Humanitarian Prize for its work with smallholder farmers.
- 2022
More than four million farm families reached
[1]One Acre Fund reported serving more than four million farm families through full-service and targeted interventions.
- 2020
Expanded sustainability and cost recovery reporting
[1]The organization reported planting more than 24 million trees through farmers and covering 77 percent of field operating costs through farmer repayments.
- 2016
Global Innovation Fund grant
[1]One Acre Fund received a reported US$15 million grant from the Global Innovation Fund.
- 2013
Response to maize lethal necrosis
[1]The organization encouraged some western Kenyan farmers to shift from maize toward millet and sorghum in response to disease pressure.
- 2006
One Acre Fund begins operations
[1]The organization launched in Bungoma, Kenya, initially serving 38 farm families.
- 2006
Early social-enterprise recognition
[1]One Acre Fund won social entrepreneurship competitions associated with Yale and Stanford, and Andrew Youn received an Echoing Green Fellowship.
- 2005
Andrew Youn investigates smallholder farming in western Kenya
[1]Youn visited western Kenya and interviewed farmers about hunger seasons, low farm productivity, and household food insecurity, informing the concept that became One Acre Fund.
Products and positioning
A farmer-centered agricultural services and finance organization that bundles inputs, training, risk protection, and market support for smallholder farmers.
Agricultural services and finance · 2006
Full-service farmer program
One Acre Fund’s principal offering bundles farm-input financing, improved seed and fertilizer distribution, agricultural training, crop insurance, and market support. Farmers generally participate through village groups coordinated by field officers, who organize delivery, training, and flexible repayment during the growing season.
Agricultural development services
Targeted farmer interventions
Targeted interventions extend selected services to farmers who may not use the full loan-and-training package. Activities have included agroforestry, tree planting, selected input access, and other programs intended to improve resilience, productivity, or environmental outcomes at scale.
Household and rural products
Additional products on credit
Beyond agricultural inputs, participating farmers have been offered selected household and livelihood products on credit, including solar lights and reusable sanitary pads. These products broaden the organization’s service relationship with rural households beyond crop production.
Marketing campaigns
- 2022New York Times Holiday Impact campaign
International
One Acre Fund was selected as the New York Times Holiday Impact Grand Prize Winner, increasing public visibility for its smallholder-farmer programs.
Outcome. The organization received the campaign’s grand-prize recognition.
Brand decisions
2013
Recommend millet and sorghum after maize disease spreadStrategyBackground
Maize lethal necrosis affected maize production in western Kenya, threatening a crop that is economically and culturally important to many participating farmers.
Action taken
One Acre Fund advised affected farmers to consider millet and sorghum as alternatives to maize.
Aftermath
The recommendation initially drew criticism because maize is widely used in Kenyan staple foods. Later accounts reported that some farmers benefited from more stable pricing for millet and reduced dependence on storing maize for seasonal price increases.
2006
Adopt a bundled asset-financing modelStrategyBackground
Smallholder farmers faced simultaneous barriers involving input access, agricultural knowledge, credit, weather risk, and markets.
Action taken
The organization combined farm-input loans, seed and fertilizer distribution, field training, crop insurance, and market facilitation in a single farmer program.
Aftermath
The bundled model became the foundation for expansion across multiple African countries and for later targeted interventions.
Recent events
- 2023
One Acre Fund receives Hilton Humanitarian Prize[1]
Other
The organization received the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize for its contribution to reducing human suffering through support for smallholder farmers.
- 2022
One Acre Fund wins New York Times Holiday Impact Grand Prize[1]
Campaign
The organization was recognized by the New York Times Holiday Impact campaign.
- 2018
Bayer donation supports poultry and digital initiatives[1]
Other
One Acre Fund accepted a donation reported as €700,000 from Bayer for improved poultry products and digital technologies.
- 2016
One Acre Fund receives Global Innovation Fund support[1]
Other
The organization won a reported US$15 million grant from the Global Innovation Fund to support the expansion and development of its work.
- 2006
One Acre Fund launches in western Kenya[1]
Other
The organization began its initial farmer operations in Bungoma, Kenya, serving 38 farm families.
Criticism of the organization’s hiring process[1]
Other
Applicants in Kenya criticized the hiring process as lengthy and confusing, with some alleging that applicant data might be collected improperly. One Acre Fund denied the data-harvesting allegation while acknowledging that its recruitment process needed improvement.
Sources2 sources
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