KFC Africa has unveiled its biggest secret yet and it’s not about the 11 herbs and spices. It’s a recipe of hope to help end child hunger, now open-sourced for sharing and scaling globally in honour of World Food Day.
Revealed on 7 October at The Biggest Hunger Hack in Johannesburg, KFC Africa’s Add Hope initiative, South Africa’s largest non-governmental feeding programme, is opening its 16-year-old blueprint to the world.
Over the past week, 60 of South Africa’s brightest young innovators, in partnership with the University of Johannesburg, collaborated to enhance Add Hope’s impact during a national hackathon.
KFC Africa’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Andra Nel, said Gen Z holds the key to ending hunger. “They’ve lived it, they understand technology and community deeply. So we gave them our blueprint and challenged them to turn it into fresh solutions for more hope.”
The hackathon generated groundbreaking ideas that will make Add Hope easier to explore, share, and scale, marking a milestone of global collaboration for World Food Day.
Since its launch, Add Hope has raised over R1 billion, with contributions from customers and partners. The initiative feeds thousands of children daily through a vast network of feeding centres nationwide.
Nel emphasised that collaboration remains central to fighting hunger, “We’re calling on more organisations to join us. Partnerships with McCormick, Coca-Cola Beverages SA, Tiger Brands, and others are already helping us scale impact.”
At the event, experts from business, academia, and civil society including Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman of Gift of the Givers highlighted hunger as both a humanitarian and economic crisis, with stunting alone costing South Africa billions in lost GDP.
Looking ahead, KFC Africa will test the best hackathon ideas and prepare a Gen Z-led national proposal for launch in 2026, supported by seed funding of up to R1 million.
“This is the first time a major African corporation has open-sourced a successful social impact model,” Nel said. “We’re not just feeding children anymore, we’re feeding a movement that could end child hunger for good.”
