AGRF’s 2021 Agribusiness Deal Room Creating partnerships and investments in Africa Agriculture
On Tuesday, June 29, 2021, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa held a virtual event to unveil the fourth edition of the Agribusiness Deal Room (AGRA).
The Agribusiness Deal Room is a matchmaking mechanism that brings together different parties during the annual AGRF Summit to create partnerships and investments in African agriculture. The Deal Room specializes in assisting governments and businesses with financing and cooperation options.
Since its start in 2018, the Deal Room has matched over 400 entrepreneurs with targeted investors and welcomed over 800 organizations for networking opportunities. In addition, it has assisted 17 countries in their efforts to attract investors. The Deal Room has seen public and private entities submit an aggregate capital of US$ 11 billion in investment opportunities over the last three years.
“The huge potential of the agricultural sector on the continent remains unmet, with agriculture being the engine of African economies. We designed the Deal Room to build the capacities of SMEs while at the same time connecting them with sources of financing. We are looking for investments and partnerships that will unlock the sector’s potential across the continent.” Dr. Fadel Ndiame, Deputy President, AGRA.
In her keynote address, Beth Dunford, the African Development Bank’s incoming Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, stated that there is a growing class of “agripreneurs” looking for investment, partnerships, technical know-how, and financing to scale up their businesses across the continent.
“The African Development Bank is excited to grow its partnership with this initiative. The Agribusiness Deal Room compliments our efforts to expand finance for agribusiness to enable SMEs to grow and attract new and innovative sources of sustainable capital.”
This year, the AGRF Agribusiness Deal Room will focus on addressing challenges in agricultural lending to SMEs and investments in government flagship priorities as one of the strategies for achieving the goals of continental and global frameworks such as the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, Africa’s Agenda 2063, the Malabo Declaration, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).
Moses Ikiara, Managing Director, Kenya Investment Authority said Kenya welcomes investors and is well-positioned to provide you with the resources and focused support you need to keep your investment projects viable and profitable.
