Grant Gordon
Most malnourished women and children in Africa aren't starving—they're eating daily, but their staples lack protein. This affects people across income quintiles, undermining health, education, and earning potential for generations. Affordable, complete proteins have just been out of reach.
The Idea
Low Cost, High Quality Fermented Proteins
Organization
Organization
Essential
Mission
Tackle malnutrition.
How it Works
Essential uses fermentation to produce complete proteins, and is working to prove it can be produced cheaply at scale. They sell those proteins to food manufacturers and institutional buyers to develop protein-fortified products—rice, beans, flour, porridge, baked goods, etc.—that will reach Africa's malnourished populations.
The Dream
Fermentation protein businesses produce affordable, complete protein at scale, paid by food manufacturers and institutional buyers. They integrate it into staples reaching Africa's malnourished populations in commercial markets.
Why We Picked Grant
Grant Gordon brings statistical rigor and operational grit from leading innovation at the International Rescue Committee. Since founding Essential in 2022 with technical co-founder Fre Tachea, they've made big breakthroughs in fermentation to produce high-quality, low-cost protein. The big test is proving the science works at commercial scale with unit economics that make affordable protein real for Africa's malnourished.
