Conferences and summits: InfoPoint conference: Investing in Africa’s agriculture - The role of AATIF & blended finance
Agricultural finance is essential for sustainable development, but bridging the investment gap requires scalable solutions. This funding gap is mainly attributed to the perception of the agrifood sector as risky due to factors such as price volatility, weather uncertainty, or borrowers’ lack of collateral, combined with prohibitive transaction costs associated with small loans.
Against this backdrop, blended finance solutions have emerged to mitigate some risks and enhance investors’ return, with the objective to attract more capital to fill the funding gap and finance the transformation of agrifood systems.
In this context, the EU invested €30 million first-loss capital in the Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund (AATIF), which is a fund based in Luxemburg and initiated by KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). AATIF provides loans to local financial institutions active in the agrifood sector as well as to agribusiness corporates and agri SMEs. The fund aims to improve food security, improve employment, and boost income in Africa’s agricultural sector. AATIF seeks to drive poverty reduction and economic sustainability by financing economically sound projects and attracting private and public capital.
The InfoPoint session aims to share insights on the use of EU blending instruments in the agricultural sector to de-risk investments, mobilize private capital, and promote sustainable agricultural growth. It will also explore how the Global Gateway initiative and the EFSD+ financing tool can further unlock investments across diverse agricultural value chains.
Event Details
Date: Monday 10 March 2025
Time: 11:00 - 12:30 (CET)
Location: InfoPoint, Brussels, Belgium
Languages: English
Agriculture remains a cornerstone of African economies, yet the sector faces persistent financing challenges. Smallholder farmers, agribusinesses, and financial institutions struggle to access capital at scale, limiting productivity, value chain development, and food security. Blended finance—strategically combining public and private investment—offers a powerful tool to unlock sustainable financing for agriculture.
This InfoPoint session, which is co-organized with AATIF and the FAO Investment Center, will showcase AATIF’s impact through firsthand experiences from agribusinesses and financial institutions that have leveraged its support. It will also provide key insights and lessons learned in designing and implementing EU blended finance instruments for agrifood systems.
AATIF will discuss risk-return dynamics and how public-backed junior funding and guarantees catalyze commercial capital for agriculture, presenting two case studies of investee companies. The FAO Investment Centre will share key lessons learned from designing and implementing blended finance vehicles, highlighting key trends, challenges, and opportunities for scaling.
