Feeding the cities to build the continent – Reflections and Outcomes of the AGRF 2020 Summit

2020 presented the world with unique challenges that, in one way or another, impacted us all. The COVID-19 pandemic posed a stress test to global agri-food systems in ways previously inconceivable.

For the first time ever, the AGRF summit took place in a virtual format and a hybrid component, comprising both a scaled down physical event in the host country, Rwanda, and digital participation from around the world. This was the best-attended AGRF Summit of all time, with over 10,400 registered, and close to 7,000 active delegates from 154 countries, including 492 global speakers. Over four days, we had meaningful engagements on how to capitalize on the economic power of rapidly-growing urban populations to create prosperous, sustainable food systems for Africa.

Without a doubt, the conversations at last year’s Summit presented a step-change in our approach towards the pursuit of food & nutrition security and the increasing shared prosperity across Africa. The conversations yielded tangible resolutions to foster the transformation of the agri-food sector to sustainably feed the continent, and the rest of the world. In this report, you will read about these resolutions in light of the current state of food and agriculture in Africa, as well as their implications on the future.

The 2020 Agribusiness Deal Room was the biggest Deal Room event to date since its inception in 2018 with more than 3,600 delegates from 91 countries in attendance. There were more than 700 SMEs seeking more that USD 547 million in funding from over 312 capital providers. More than 15 African governments presented investment opportunities worth USD 7.2 billion.

You can download the AGRF summit report here and the DealRoom report here