SDIM 2023 - Leadership Panel - Bridging the Gap: Financing Africa's Agricultural Growth - English

Please join us for a special Leadership Panel on strengthening food value chains in Africa with President William Ruto of Kenya; Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary of the United States; Samantha Power, Administrator, US Agency for International Development; Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development of Norway; Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, President, African Development Bank, and Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum. Small and medium agricultural enterprises (agri-SMEs) are Africa’s largest employer and economic engine—and the key to transforming food systems and improving food security for the continent. Yet three out of four agri-SMEs can’t access formal bank financing, and are too large for microfinance, creating an estimated $100 billion gap in unmet demand for financing. How can donor governments, development finance institutions, African governments, and the private sector catalyze action to strengthen food value chains in Africa through innovative financing, and better support small and medium agricultural enterprises? The event is co-hosted with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.