One Acre Fund

One Acre Fund is a nonprofit social enterprise headquartered in East Africa that supports smallholder farmers (those farming roughly one acre to one hectare) across sub-Saharan Africa. Its mission is to alleviate poverty and hunger by helping farmers become more productive and resilient to climate change, with a strong emphasis on agricultural education and innovation. The model supplies farmers with a comprehensive bundle of services to help them succeed while scaling to reach more farm families.

Founded in 2006 by Andrew Youn — inspired by farm families he met in Kenya and co-founded alongside Eric Pohlman and John Gachunga — the organization addresses barriers to successful farming in Africa, including lack of inputs, training, and market access. Its program provides farming products on credit (repaid over the growing season) plus training on effective agricultural practices and on selling surplus. A defining feature is its self-sustaining approach: clients pay for the services they receive, treating farmers as customers and generating income to expand reach and impact.

The organization has grown from serving 38 farm families in western Kenya in 2006 to over 5 million farm families across nine sub-Saharan African countries by 2024, benefiting more than 27 million farm family members. Each acre managed produces an additional 1,000 pounds of food (about 2,000 person-meals) per year. By 2024, its farmers had planted over 250 million trees across nine countries, on track toward a goal of 1 billion trees by 2030.

Andrew Youn led the organization as CEO for 17 years and now serves as President; under his leadership it won the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize in 2023. In March 2024 the CEO role transitioned to co-founder Eric Pohlman, who previously led the Rwanda program. In May 2024, One Acre Fund received $10 million from Proparco (an Agence Française de Développement Group subsidiary) to enhance food security. Because the organization's model centers on agricultural innovation, climate resilience, and scaling services to millions of farmers, innovations in this space are directly relevant to its work.