AgriBridge Policy Note #2 Financing Africa‘s Agrifood Systems From fragmented finance to coalition-based agrifood investment

Julian Barungi
Program Officer for Policy,
ASARECA; AgriBridge Member

Transcript

1. 27.10.2026 AgriBridge Webinar Financing Africa’s Agrifood Future Jointly facilitated Jointly facilitated by by
2. 27.10.2026 AgriBridge Policy Note #2 Financing Africa‘s Agrifood Systems From fragmented finance to coalition-based agrifood investment Julian Barungi, ASARECA & AgriBridge Member Jointly facilitated Jointly facilitated by by
3. Core Message AgriBridge Policy Note Core Message: Africa’s agrifood systems need BETTER COORDINATION, not just more finance FROM FRAGMENTED FINANCE TO COALITION-BASED INVESTMENT FRAGMENTED 1 2 3 4 Separate windows Weak pipelines 1 COALITION FINANCE Different rules Shared priorities & clear roles 27.10.2026 AgriBridge Policy Note #2 2 Find gaps & underserved 3 Underserved actors MAP GAPS MATCH Fit tools to needs BUILD Bankable pipelines 4 TRACK Reach & impact 1
4. The Financing Challenge Required annual finance USD 76.8B 15.4B Public 61.4B Private The note’s central finding: the financing challenge is also a coordination and inclusion challenge: PUBLIC FINANCE ODA Fiscal constraints and implementation bottlenecks Limited relative to need, but strategic for public goods and risk reduction PRIVATE CAPITAL INCLUSION Risk, weak pipelines and unsuitable instruments hold back investment Women, youth, SMEs, smallholders and pastoralists remain underserved Omamo & Mills, 2022 27.10.2026 AgriBridge Policy Note #2 2
5. Findings - Evidence from AgriBridge practice SAHEL Pastoral input-market finance KENYA Digital finance for youth Collective procurement and regional coordination can make pastoral input markets more investable. Mobile lending, alternative credit scoring, insurance and market links can improve access for young farmers. UGANDA Women-led agrodealers RWANDA / Cold-chain & structured KENYA finance Trade credit guarantees work better when paired with training, demand creation and last-mile services. Catalytic public/concessional finance can help crowd in private investment for storage and logistics. Across the cases, finance is more effective when combined with risksharing, technical support, aggregation and market access. 27.10.2026 AgriBridge Policy Note #2 3
6. Policy recommendations 01 03 TURN STRATEGIES INTO ACTION 02 PUT FINANCE TO WORK Institutionalize multi-stakeholder agrifood financing coalitions. Define complementary roles for public, development and private finance. DESIGN FOR DIVERSE REALITIES MAKE FINANCE ACCOUNTABLE Adapt instruments to women, youth, SMEs, smallholders and pastoralists. 04 Track transparency, additionality, reach and development impact. Together, these shift the focus from isolated instruments to coordinated financing systems. 27.10.2026 AgriBridge Policy Note #2 4
7. Solutions - What policymakers can do now Link CAADP, NASIPs, AfCFTA and Agenda 2063 priorities to budgets and investment pipelines. 1 CONNECT 2 COORDINATE Finance and set up multi-stakeholder platforms around shared priorities. 3 PROTECT IMPACT Require transparency, additionality and impact tracking for public, concessional and blended finance. 4 DE-RISK LOCALLY Strengthen risk-sharing mechanisms that reach SMEs and local value chains. Governments 27.10.2026 PDBs / DFIs AgriBridge Policy Note #2 Private investors SMEs & farmers Research & civil society 5
8. Thank you! Contact: Julian Barungi ASARECA & AgriBridge Member