When PepsiCo’s acquisition of Pioneer Foods in March 2020 was finalized, PepsiCo agreed to a number of Public Interest Commitments, with the overarching goal of driving economic growth. One such commitment was the launching of a Development Fund, with an initial investment of R600 million in order to enhance effective, market-driven programs, co-create innovative solutions alongside key partners and scale the impact through catalytic investments.
The Kgodiso Development Fund, although founded by PepsiCo operates as an independent entity. This allows us to work across public and private sectors to deliver on our commitments, and allows us to deploy a range of resources at our disposal. This may mean drawing on support from PepsiCo if believed to be value-adding in order to achieve the development outcomes desired.
We are committed to nurturing potential that drives economic growth, promotes social development and leads the way toward a more sustainable food system in South Africa.
Our mission is to create ‘shared value’ solutions along the food & beverage value chain that contributes to the long-term sustainability and resilience of South Africa’s food system.
To support the transformation of the food & beverage value chain by developing and empowering new and current black emerging businesses (e.g., farmers, suppliers, business solution providers, distributors, women-led enterprises).
To address knowledge and skills gaps across the South African food system (e.g., applied agriculture R&D, climate resilient crop development, capacity-building in STEM professions, circular economy business models, nutrition science).
To tackle local development challenges and strive for tangible impact that affects large-scale change by providing funding to enable sustainable crop production, technical and business support through strategic partnerships and programs.