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Bridging the Financing Gap for Women-led Agribusinesses in Africa

One of my great joys is working on the SME Accelerator Programme for Women-led Agribusinesses in Africa.

Three years ago, the International Agri-Food Network and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) banded together to create this Accelerator Program. Each year, we select 50 women who have become finalists Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA) and bring them into a program where we match them with a mentor from around the world.

If you think about it, what other sector has one billion people involved besides the job of producing our food? Despite that, and the interest we all have in seeing development of the agri-food system, we know that there is not enough resource getting to the people who will build it up. Many projects are geared to companies that are looking at $5 to $10 million of investment in Africa. There are very few of those that are set up for durability and resilience in the current context. Instead, much of the growth will come from those smaller SMEs working in their agri-food communities.

There are so many ways in which women are leading the charge, and that investment in their businesses is leading to more employment locally and sourcing often from other women farmers. So we want to make sure that that’s happening, and one of my big challenges this year is to do my best and to work with as many others as I can find who are willing to think about how to invest in that particular space and to achieve a better agri-food system by supporting the women who underpin it.

Watch below as I share more on this:

SME Accelerator Programme

Robynne Anderson

Robynne has extensive experience in the agriculture and food sector, working throughout the value chain – from basic inputs to farmers in the field to the grocery store shelf. She works internationally in the sector, including speaking at the United Nations on agriculture and food issues, and representing the International Agri-Food Network at the UN.Throughout her career she has worked with farm organisations like the Prairie Oat Growers Association, the National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi and the Himalayan Farmers Association, as well as global groups, to further the voice of agriculture in the food debate. She has also worked with Fortune 500 companies growing worldwide businesses to assist them with issues management and strategy decisions.

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