Agri-food entrepreneurs, policymakers, financiers and development partners on Thursday met in Abuja to discuss the state of Africa’s agri-food sector and outline strategies for growth, financing and regional expansion ahead of 2026.
The gathering was organised by African Food Changemakers (AFC) as its 2025 End-of-Year Agri-Food Entrepreneurs Mixer and attracted over 500 participants across Nigeria and other African countries, both in-person and virtually.
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AFC is a female-founded, pan-African non-profit organisation with a community of over 8,500 agri-food entrepreneurs across 49 African countries.
According to the organisers, the hybrid event was deliberately structured as a strategy-setting platform, aimed at positioning agri-food entrepreneurs at the centre of conversations on food security, climate resilience, financing and trade across the continent.
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Speaking at the event, the Executive Chair of African Food Changemakers, Temi Adegoroye, said the mixer reflected the growing strength of Africa’s agri-food ecosystem and the importance of collaboration.
“This gathering is more than an end-of-year celebration. It reflects the strength of Africa’s agri-food community and the power of collaboration in shaping the continent’s food future,” Mr Adegoroye said.
He emphasised that across different regions and value chains, African agri-food entrepreneurs have increasingly demonstrated that community-driven solutions were critical to building resilient and inclusive food systems.
Financing gaps, policy challenges
Discussions at the event highlighted persistent challenges facing agri-food small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly limited access to finance, climate risks and market barriers, despite the sector’s central role in employment and food security.
A board member of African Food Changemakers and Senior Policy Specialist at the FAO Subregional Office for Eastern Africa, Jerome Afeikhena, said agri-food SMEs remained the backbone of African economies.
“Agri-food SMEs are the backbone of African economies, accounting for about 90 percent of businesses and over 80 percent of jobs across the continent,” Mr Afeikhena said.
He warned, however, that access to finance remained the biggest constraint to growth.
“Despite their importance, agri-food SMEs face a financing gap of nearly 180 billion dollars, making access to finance the single biggest constraint to growth,” he said.
Mr Afeikhena added that Africa’s agri-food transformation would depend largely on how quickly SMEs adopted technology, strengthened climate resilience and accessed innovative financing models.
Role of financial institutions
Also speaking at the event, the Group Head, Finance Facilitation at the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Michael Adeoye, stressed the need to scale agribusinesses across the continent.
“Scaling African agribusinesses is not optional—it is critical for food security, job creation, poverty reduction, and sustainable economic growth,” Mr Adeoye said.
He explained that NIRSAL was established to address structural weaknesses in agricultural value chains and facilitate sustainable finance for the sector.
“Through risk-sharing mechanisms, agricultural lending can be de-risked, making finance more accessible to agribusinesses,” he said.
Looking ahead to 2026
The Operations Manager of African Food Changemakers, Ruth Egbe, said the focus for the coming year must shift from survival to preparedness.
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“As we look ahead to 2026, our focus must shift from resilience to readiness—ensuring African agri-food entrepreneurs are prepared to scale, compete, and collaborate across borders,” Ms Egbe said.
She reaffirmed AFC’s commitment to promoting African-led solutions and strengthening linkages between entrepreneurs, policymakers and capital providers.
Key themes from the event included the role of agri-food SMEs in Africa’s economic transformation, closing financing gaps, technology adoption, climate resilience, and opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Awards of excellence were presented to vibrant Agri-Food entrepreneurs impacting the ecosystem through sustainable innovations, trade and market excellence, storytelling, capacity building, and community engagement.
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