"The future of food in the world will depend on what Africa does with agriculture. Therefore we must change our view on agriculture.
Agriculture is not a development activity or a social sector. Agriculture is a business.
We must not use agriculture to manage poverty, we therefore must use to create wealth.
Agri business is a must."
- Morincior Chikumbutso Manjolo.
Young farmer in Malawi, expanding his farming by working with AfricaFood.
Africa currently imports food valued at around $100 billion annually – an amount that is predicted to increase to $150 billion by the end of this decade. What if Africa could produce this food itself?
The current situation represents a significant burden on the shoulders of leaders of African countries and on the lives of each and every resident. The huge complexity of changing this may lead to a feeling of it being too big to change, leading to inertia and therefore maintaining the status quo. However, we believe ‘within the biggest challenges are the biggest opportunities’. Here is why:
The opportunity for local entrepreneurs is simply unprecedented, and it spans multiple tracks. Here are some examples:
Africa has witnessed multiple challenges to the health and welfare of its people including poverty, corruption, starvation, infectious diseases, lack of clean water, and more. Although this has been the focus of advertising by various foundations, shedding positive light on the potential opportunity paints an entirely different perspective for a successful movement.
Africa could become a global inspiration
Africa is already the cradle of humanity and with a renewed focus on food production, can now become the cradle of sustainability by bundling forces such as the inertia of a young population, entrepreneurial steam, expertise in latest agriculture trends, and associated technology, and the backbone of investors with sustainable forces.
AfricaFood is a purpose-driven initiative that empowers entrepreneurs to unlock unprecedented agriculture opportunities on the African continent based on a manifesto of trust, and combining entrepreneurship, business development, investor matchmaking, long-term program follow-up, and financial stewardship through the establishment of the African Opportunity Fund.
Cubimo: A birthplace for ideas and a system for maturing them
As a network of entrepreneurs, the Cubimo platform is the catalyst for mobilizing these interested parties and resources. The way the platform works is by exchanging knowledge, building trust, providing guidance to entrepreneurs, and matching them with investors. The rich Cubimo platform also brings influencers and investors into the mix and exposes them to the most promising local entrepreneurs and their ideas of how to generate efficient, sustainable, regenerative and financially viable food production on African soil. Investor confidence will be boosted through a carefully structured recruitment process for entrepreneurs who have the essential attributes for success. The platform holds many supportive tools for entrepreneurs so that they don’t need to invest in these basic assets that accelerate their business. Cubimo becomes both the starting place for entrepreneurs as well as a path for continued growth. AfricaFood is hosted on Cubimo and connected to its ecosystem.
A healthy ecosystem
A healthy ecosystem of agriculture entrepreneurs and stakeholders is charactarized by collaboration, resource access, inclusiveness, innovation, sustainability, resilience, and fairness. These attributes connect deeply with the Trust Manifesto and the core values of the AfricaFood initiative.
Some of our research includes:
Agriculture: Africa’s key to socioeconomic growth
by Hamond Motsi 22 May 2023
There is no civilization that has developed without feeding itself, writes Hamond Motsi. He explores the critical role of agriculture in driving Africa’s socioeconomic development, as food security, poverty alleviation, and job creation take centre stage.
Link here