With support from AGRA and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Phene Partners hosted an inaugural Round Table discussion for the AfriGro Capital initiative at the African Food Systems Summit in Kigali, on the 4th September 2024.

The Round Table, facilitated by Phene Partners included senior representatives from the Governments of Zambia, Tanzania, and Rwanda, the African Union, development finance institutions, banks, agricultural corporations, SAGCOT (Tanzania) and the Southern Africa Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU).

The engaging and insightful discussions covered a range of topics; the need to twin track both a targeted country specific agri-investment agenda, together with the need for decisive leadership in promoting intra-regional trade; the absence of affordable long-term agricultural financing; the lack of investment into agricultural infrastructure; the importance of a multi-country approach to minimising investment risk; the importance of commercial catalytic financing in addressing the missing middle when it comes to agritech financing; the need for stakeholders to appreciate that investors need an adequate return on capital to engage effectively; the importance of actively bringing small-holders into the investment decision process; and the importance of ongoing open dialogue between government and the private sector in jointly addressing key bottlenecks and challenges.

We were privileged that senior members of the Governments of Zambia, Rwanda and Tanzania; Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, AU Special Envoy for Food Systems; Prof Hamadi Boga Vice President for Program Delivery AGRA; Mr Frank Braeken, AGRA Board member and former President of Unilever Africa; Donal Brown, Associate Vice-President IFAD; Geoffrey Kirenga, CEO of SAGCOT (Tanzania); Ben Valk, Head of Strategic Coalitions Rabobank; Arne Cartridge, Special Advisor Yara, and Ishmael Sunga, CEO, Southern Africa Confederation of Agricultural Unions, amongst others shared their expertise.