About 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 market for financial exchange for food exists, meaning there is a “paying customer” and thus a clear entrepreneurial opportunity. An infusion of entrepreneurial insights can generate a more efficient and potentially sustainable solution.
If $150 billion can stay within Africa per year, that would not only dwarf all traditional charity donations combined by comparison, but it would also greatly fuel employment, which in turn would kick-start an upward economic spiral. In this way Africa could keep both the money and the jobs and will create many thousands of employment opportunities in addition
Making use of the latest in agricultural technology would leapfrog the pathway for Africa to achieve sustainable production in alignment with the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The majority of Africa’s population is young, many with entrepreneurial ambitions. This opportunity can provide a relevant starting point for many new startups, and at the same time, return the creation of the future into the hands of the people of Africa.

The opportunity for local entrepreneurs is simply unprecedented, and it spans multiple tracks. Here are some examples:

Infrastructure: adequate roads, ports, water, and power are needed to produce and distribute goods. Drone technology is one vehicle to bridge that gap in current infrastructure similar to what has been demonstrated as successful in the shift from landlines to GSM.
Investment: Historically, investments in agriculture are behind other areas of investment e.g. infrastructure, which has limited the ability to produce and compete globally.
Technology: Many African countries lack access to the latest technology and equipment, making it challenging to produce goods efficiently and compete with those exporting food into Africa.

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.