Investing in women in agribusiness transforms Africa's food systems

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Investing in gender-sensitive policies and regulatory frameworks that encourage investment in women agripreneurs is central to the future of agrifood systems in Africa.

This was revealed by Nana Amoah, AGRA’s Director of Gender, Youth, and Inclusiveness during the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda on Thursday 5 September 2024 during a deal room knowledge session held under the theme “Mobilizing Catalytic Investments and Access to High-Value Markets for Women in Agribusiness.”

African women are the backbone of agriculture, contributing approximately 70% of food production and performing nearly 50% of agricultural labor. However, despite their essential role, they face disproportionate challenges in accessing finance, markets, and technology.

“This gap is a gender issue, as much as it is a fundamental economic issue. Imagine the vast potential we are leaving untapped—both in terms of productivity and economic growth—by not fully supporting women agripreneurs.”

“We must invest in gender-sensitive policies and regulatory frameworks that encourage investment in women agripreneurs. Without supportive environments, all the financial access in the world won’t be enough to overcome systemic barriers,” Amoah said.

AGRA’s VALUE4HER initiative is one such platform where the institution is building an inclusive and supportive ecosystem for women agripreneurs. By connecting women to markets, finance, and networks, stakeholders will be driving not just the growth of their businesses, but also the economic transformation of entire communities.

Addressing the same gathering, Robynne Anderson, the Director-General of the International Agri-Food Network underscored the need to give women in agribusiness access to seed, finance, leadership training, and extension services.

“One of the programs that we’re doing though, and we’ve had a great opportunity to work together as the International Agri-Food Network, along with the FAO, is we set up an accelerator program for women-led SMEs in Africa,” Anderson said.

The program received over 1000 applications from women entrepreneurs. Of the top 100 applicants, the 50 selected will go into a mentorship program in which each mentee is paired with a mentor, many of them food technologists and other experts.

“They get e-learning courses from the FAO. And then in addition, we do three workshops, one on branding, one on HR, and one on preparation for access to finance, basically coaching on setting up your first pitch. And with that, we’re putting together lists of many of these great programs like AECF, where people can go get more advanced training. So it’s a nine-month accelerator for the top finalists in the Women Agripreneur of the Year Award (WAYA) system.

“And we could be more pleased to be adding that little bit of extra kick into this bigger ecosystem that needs the kind of systemic work that we heard about in Rwanda and also with Nigeria’s work on trade,” she added.

Panelists included Jean Bosco Iyacu, the CEO of Access to Finance Rwanda; Prof Hamadi Boga, the Vice President, in charge of Program Delivery at AGRA; moderator Nega Wubeneh, Head of Markets, AGRA; Victoria Sabula, the CEO of Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF); Affiong Williams the CEO of ReelFruit; and Mumbi Maina the Access to Finance Lead at the International Trade Centre.