UK Minister for Africa, Lord Collins has announced new funding to
scale up early-stage agribusinesses and boost climate resilience
across Africa.
- Lord Collins announces £25 million investment into African
food and agriculture sector during keynote speech at the Africa
Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali, Rwanda
- The Africa Minister reiterated the UK's commitment to partner
with Africa on boosting its food trade, tackling the climate
crisis and strengthening food and nutrition security to senior
African leaders
- Lord Collins will also meet the President, Foreign Minister
and other senior Rwandan decision-makers to strengthen bilateral
relations between the UK and Rwanda
Africa Minister Lord Collins has today [4 September] announced UK
backing for a new investment facility that will accelerate the
growth of Africa's food and agriculture sector.
During his keynote speech at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF)
2024, Lord Collins committed to providing £25 million for
AgDevCo, a UK-based social impact investor dedicated to investing
in African agribusinesses.
In the face of conflict and climate change, communities across
Africa are grappling with high levels of hunger and malnutrition.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 4 are undernourished. Investing in
Africa's food markets is a crucial means of working with farmers,
helping those at the forefront of the climate crisis and moving
towards a world free from poverty.
The UK's contribution is expected to yield an increase in income
of £128 million for the farmers who benefit by 2036.
The Minister for Africa,
said:
“Improving food markets will have a game changing impact on
individuals and families across Africa. Giving hard working
farmers stable incomes, creating jobs for the youth and helping
end malnutrition.
Without access to funding, no matter the drive and ingenuity,
too many businesses can't get off the ground.
That's why I'm pleased to announce that the UK intends to
back a new $50 million facility called AgDevCo Ventures. The UK
will put in over half the funds, with AgDevCo collecting funds
from other investors. AgDevCo's funding and expertise will enable
early-stage African agribusinesses to grow and increase Africa's
resilience to climate change.”
This funding will support the creation of AgDevCo Ventures, which
will channel early-stage investment into small and medium-sized
enterprises working within Africa's agriculture sector. The UK
Government is contributing over half of the funds with matching
contributions being raised from other investors, resulting in $50
million overall for the planned launch of AgDevCo Ventures in
early 2025.
The new funding facility will work with small agricultural
enterprises across Africa, with a particular focus on African
owned and managed businesses.
Daniel Hulls, CEO of AgDevCo said:
“We are very grateful for the continued collaboration with
the UK government.
This funding will allow us to leverage third-party capital
and go back to investing in small, early-stage
businesses.
We are excited about developing a new AgDevCo Ventures
portfolio, and expect it to be high impact, deliver jobs and
increased rural incomes by building the next generation of
African agri-SMEs.”
There is evidence that small to medium-sized enterprises lack the
financing options necessary to scale up. As a result, the UK is
working alongside partners to pioneer new ways to finance
agribusiness and mobilise other investors.
The demand for food and animal feed in Africa is projected to
triple between 2010 and 2050, with the demand for food globally
set to increase by 50%. UK investment will look to improve both
African and global food and nutrition security by enabling
enterprises in the agriculture sector to be better able to cater
to the rising demand.
