Dear ABAN Member,
By 2050, the United Nations projects that there will be about 9.5 billion people on the planet, a quarter of whom will be in Africa. This means that there will be more mouths to feed, and with that a wealth of opportunity in Agriculture that several start-ups have only just begun tapping into.
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE
Climate Smart Agriculture refers to the use of technologies such as the internet, location systems, robots and artificial intelligence on farms to increase the quality and quantity of crops and products, while optimising human labour. This in the face of depleting natural resources, and declining agricultural productivity occasioned by climate change, which is forcing countries to try and produce more, with less.
“The increasing world population will create a bigger demand for food production. The size of food and agriculture in Africa will rise to $1 trillion by 2030. The population of Africa, now at 1.2 billion, will double to 2.5 billion by 2050. They all must eat,” Fadilah Tchoumba, ABAN Secretary General said at a Climate Smart Agriculture Pre-Summit Webinar, put together by ABAN and VC4A, in partnership with AEDIB NET.
The Webinar consisted of two panels with various experts that addressed the issues and opportunities presented by this budding sector. Some of the challenges mentioned included the perception that the industry was risky and therefore calls for specific and deliberate support of funding, mentorship and networking. Adamou Kouotou, CEO of Agrix Tech however, insists that if data on the industry is compiled, it would paint a more compelling picture.
“Financial institutions (in Cameroon) which are key for the development of this sector feel like the industry is risky. What we need to do is change their minds. We can do this via data,” Adamou said.
“The sector supports livelihoods of 80% of the African population, provides employment for about 60% of the economically active population, and for about 70% of the poorest people on the continent,” Fadilah added.
To stress on this however, ABAN Board member Hannah Subayi stated: “You need to be patient when investing in Agritech. You also have to be very conservative when doing the valuation of the start up in question.”
But one of the success stories sits with Ahmed Ben Achballah, CEO of MooMe, a diary organisation in Tunisia that is using tech to better manage their returns and improve services in the country’s dairy industry.
“When we put out the new version for our app we got sign ups from 10 countries. We were happy to have been able to be of interest to users from all those countries.”
You can listen to the full conversation here and educate yourself on the opportunities and intricacies of this sector.
IN THE NEWS
ABAN attended the 2022 CHOGM event in Rwanda last month with a slew of announcements that made it all the more special. In the coming months, an East and Central Africa hub is going to be established in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.
To add to that, ABAN Co-founder Rebecca Enonchong and Secretary General Fadilah Tchoumba declared Angel investing an economic development tool.
The team, led by ABAN Co-Founder Rebecca Enonchong and Secretary General Fadilah Tchoumba said there is enormous potential in the continent’s startup ecosystem that is poised for significant growth with the support of business angels across the continent. Africa’s startup ecosystems are already worth an estimated $6.6 billion with South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda leading the charge in the growth of startup companies. Read the full press release here.
India-Africa Entrepreneurship and Investment Summit held in Nairobi.
At the start of July, entrepreneurs from across Africa and India gathered in Kenya’s capital to look at ways to foster stronger ties between startups in both regions.
India is the third largest StartUp Hub in the world with 14,000 recognized startups in 2021 as per the last Economic Survey Report, with an investment in $42 billion. Africa is home to about 760 Startups and counting that received a combined investment of US$4.9 billion (Source – Briter Bridges).
The summit touched on the following topics:
Cross border FinTech
AgriTech and Agri Export
EdTech And Remote Teaching
HealthTech – Telehealth
International E-Commerce
Read more about it here.
SAVE THE DATE
In conduction with Venture Capital for Africa – VC4A, we will be hosting the 9th edition of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (#AESIS2022) from 2-4 November, 2022.
Over 2,000 delegates from 75 countries will be in attendance to discuss the innovation and investment industry, its latest trends, as well as chart a way forward with new partnerships and alliances. The summit will be a mix of both online and in-person investor meetings in various cities around the world.
We hope to see you there!
Once again, as we kick off this new month, we look forward to greater collaborations and growth in the sector. Till next month,
Fadilah Tchoumba
Secretary-General, ABAN
