Experts call for an ecosystem approach to unlock Africa’s agricultural transformation

Second Expert Talk on Access to Finance for Agro-Industrialisation in Africa highlights new evidence on low capacity utilisation and calls for coordinated action to deliver on the CAADP Kampala Declaration

8 July 2026 — African agribusiness leaders, investors, and agriculture finance experts have called for stronger coordination to close the structural gaps holding back agro-industrialization across the continent and to translate financing commitments into practical support for agro-processors, smallholder farmers, and agri-SMEs.

The call was made during the second webinar in the Expert Talk Series on Access to Finance for Agro-Industrialisation in Africa, organised by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), the GIZ Agribusiness Facility for Africa (ABF), AfriCatalyst, the Shamba Centre for Food and Climate, and the Zero Hunger Coalition. The session brought together investors, agribusiness leaders, development partners, and policy actors to examine how finance can move beyond access to capital and deliver stronger enterprise performance, higher capacity utilisation, and greater value addition.

Building on the first webinar, which focused on access to finance and de-risking, this second session shifted the conversation from identifying financing gaps to examining how finance can be translated into measurable improvements in agro-processing productivity. Panelists noted that while agriculture remains central to Africa’s economic growth, food security, job creation, and rural transformation, many actors across the value chain still struggle to access affordable financing tailored to their needs.

New study shows the challenge goes beyond finance

A key highlight of the webinar was the presentation of a study jointly commissioned by AUDA-NEPAD and the GIZ Agribusiness Facility for Africa, examining the operational performance of agro-processing enterprises across Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, and Nigeria. The study found that many agro-processors continue to operate well below their installed capacity, even where access to finance is not the only or main constraint.

Speaking on behalf of the study team, Mrs Esterine Fotabong, Director of Agriculture, Food Security and Sustainable Environment at AUDA-NEPAD, said the findings point to a wider set of challenges.
“Enterprises cannot operate at full capacity without reliable raw material supplies, affordable finance, adequate infrastructure, efficient logistics, skilled labour and competitive markets,” she said.
She added that the success of Africa’s agricultural investment agenda should be measured by real outcomes, not only by the amount of finance mobilized.

“The success of our investments will not be measured by the amount of finance mobilized, but by the extent to which that finance delivers productive enterprises, competitive value chains, decent jobs and resilient agri-food systems,” Mrs Fotabong said. “That is the vision of the CAADP Kampala Declaration, and it should guide our collective effort.”

Turning the Kampala Declaration into tangible support

Mrs Fotabong linked the discussion directly to the CAADP Kampala Declaration and the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan 2026–2035, particularly their focus on agro-industrialisation, value addition, and increased investment across Africa’s food systems.

“Access to finance is not an end in itself, but a strategic enabler of agro-industrial transformation,” she said. “Greater investment in agro-processing, storage, logistics and value addition will reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen food security, create quality employment, particularly for women and youth, and enhance the competitiveness of African agri-food value chains.”

Marieme Diop, Chief Operating Officer of AfriCatalyst, echoed this message in her opening remarks, noting that the sector must rethink how financing is designed and delivered. “Africa does not simply need more financing,” she said. “It needs financing that works financing that strengthens agro-processors, builds resilient value chains, and delivers on the ambitions of the CAADP Kampala Declaration.”

She noted that evidence from Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, and Nigeria shows that agro-processors face obstacles beyond finance, including infrastructure gaps, technology constraints, weak storage systems, supply chain disruptions, skills shortages, and limited market access.

One of the most concrete proposals from the discussion was the need to rethink how agribusiness deals are structured. Daniel Annerose, CEO of AgCelerant, argued that financiers should stop treating smallholder farmers and processors as isolated risks. Instead, he proposed financing five-year “cropping season projects” that bring farmers, input suppliers, aggregators, technology platforms, and buyers together under one bankable agreement. This approach, he said, would allow blended finance to support the entire value chain rather than one link within it.

Building a pipeline of investable agribusinesses

Simon Striegler, Head of Component for the GIZ Agribusiness Facility for Africa, highlighted progress since the first webinar. He noted that ABF, a regional programme co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union, currently supports 65 private sector-led consortia working across cocoa, livestock, and maize value chains through a competitive matching grant fund.

He said the fund goes beyond providing capital by helping to de-risk investment.
“We have presented this matching grant fund not only as an instrument to bring working business models to scale, but also as a broader de-risking mechanism,” Mr Striegler said, adding that the fund’s track record and partner performance have already helped attract more private funding for greater impact across African value chains.

Mr Striegler also announced new work with public partners in Kenya to adapt the matching grant model at national level, describing this as a way to “domesticate the Kampala agenda into actionable tools that leverage private investment into value chains.”

Finance must be matched with stronger ecosystems

Panelists agreed that improving capacity utilization cannot be left to agro-processing enterprises alone. It requires coordinated action by governments, financial institutions, the private sector, and development partners to remove systemic bottlenecks, crowd in investment, and create the enabling environment businesses need to grow.

Speakers emphasized that while finance remains a critical catalyst for agro-industrialization, capital alone cannot transform the sector. Weak corporate governance, poor infrastructure, high logistics costs, technology gaps, and difficult business environments continue to limit the ability of agro-processors to scale and compete.

The discussion reinforced that delivering on the CAADP Kampala Declaration will require an ecosystem approach, where financing is matched by investments in infrastructure, markets, technology, skills, policy reforms, and value-chain coordination. Participants stressed that success should not be measured by the volume of financing mobilized, but by whether those investments strengthen agro-processing, create quality jobs, build competitive value chains, and accelerate Africa’s agri-food transformation.

They also underscored that smallholder farmers, who remain the backbone of Africa’s food systems, must stay at the centre of implementation through greater access to finance, markets, technology, and extension services.