Innovations Session N°26

Financing African Agrifood Entrepreneurs: Strategies to access investment

Access to finance remains one of the most significant barriers facing African agrifood entrepreneurs, particularly SMEs and farmer-led businesses. While the sector holds immense potential to strengthen food systems, create jobs, and drive value addition, many agrifood enterprises struggle to secure the capital needed to grow. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, agricultural SMEs face an estimated annual financing gap of more than USD 70 billion.

Traditional financial products often fail to match the realities of agrifood businesses, where seasonality, climate risks, and longer investment cycles increase perceived risk for lenders and investors. At the same time, new financing opportunities are emerging through impact investment, blended finance, value-chain finance, and specialised agrifood funds, creating new pathways for businesses able to demonstrate strong investment readiness.

This session will explore practical strategies for agrifood entrepreneurs to secure investment and scale their businesses. Bringing together entrepreneurs who have successfully raised funding, investors, and ecosystem actors, the discussion will highlight what financiers are looking for, the types of funding available to the sector, and key lessons for agrifood businesses seeking to attract investment.