At the 2019 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Accra, Ghana, heads of state and
government, ministers, civil society, and business leaders explored ways to hasten Africa’s agricultural revolution through digitalization.
AGRA VP of Country Support, Delivery and Partnerships and partners launch the Deal Room at AGRF 2019
Like in previous editions, the event drew a large and diverse crowd of about 2800 delegates from all over the world, drawn by a rich programme of high profile panels, informal meetings, business-to-business conversations, and much more.
Highlights included the launch of the 2019 Africa Agricultural Status Report by AGRA, documenting inter alia the existence of a vibrant small and medium-sized enterprise
market in Africa’s food systems. Also among the key outcomes was the mobilization of more than $500 million to develop opportunities for young Africans in agriculture.
Building on the pilot experience of 2018, AGRA and Forum organizing partners presented a revamped and expanded “Agribusiness Deal Room” this year, which drew around 580 businesses, 37 financial investors, 17 African banks, and three Development Finance Institutions. This is a space intensely curated by AGRA and partners to nurture productive,
ideally long-term business and investment partnerships in the African agri-food ecosystem, responding to the large mismatch between capital and project availability holding back progress in this sector.
More than 117 African SMEs made fruitful connections with high profile investors in 350 meetings through the Deal Room, which SAFIN contributed to design and populate. Financial commitments facilitated by this space amounted to about $200 million in new investments, in
addition to a commitment to support the digital infrastructure needed to power innovative farmer-oriented services, climate change adaptation, and the launch of a major food trade coalition.
