African governments have been challenged to foster collaborations to boost agribusiness in the continent.
Speakers at the Africa Agribusiness Accelerators Growth Summit in Nairobi called for collaborations between governments, academia, research institutions, civil society, the United Nations, and the private sector.
Amine Idriss Adoum, a director at Africa Union Development Agency- New Partnership for Africa's Development (AUDA NEPAD) said partnerships are critical as the continent is faced with climate challenges and food security concerns.
He noted that Africa's agribusiness sector represents 25 per cent of GDP with 70 per cent of the population depending on agriculture.
“There is a growing need for coordinated ecosystem support as only 20 per cent of agribusiness potential is currently realised,” he explained.
The three-day conference is themed "Strengthening Ecosystem Support for Sustainable Agribusiness Growth in Africa"
The summit is a collaborative initiative by AUDA NEPAD, Entrepreneurship for Impact (E4Impact), World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation with support from the government of New Zealand.
David Cheboryot, a director at E4Impact, said African countries and partners can stand together as one to champion entrepreneurship and trade in the continent and beyond.
“We are looking to New Zealand,” he pointed out.
“We may have our challenges, and the wheels of our good intentions to work together may turn slowly but we are committed to network, share our experiences and work together.”
George Murumba, Principal Programme Officer under the Industrialisation Division, AUDA NEPAD said African governments need to connect agribusiness and food systems entrepreneurs with funders and investors.
The summit aims to catalyse lasting change in Africa's agribusiness sector through practical collaboration, actionable insights, and sustainable partnership frameworks.
Adoum named key challenges as fragmented support services- incubation and acceleration, limited resource optimisation, duplication of efforts, gaps in technical assistance, finance constraints and market linkage inefficiencies.
"Together, we can create a more effective and efficient support ecosystem that drives sustainable agribusiness growth across Africa,” he stated.