of primary agricultural production is carried out by women
of food processing
of food distribution
of restaurants and food services
Source: LadyAgri Market Assessment Study 2019
Even though women are key operators throughout the agri-value chain from farm to fork, their access to land, equipment, mechanisation, inputs, financing, new farming practices, markets and business development opportunities remains limited. As a result, the development of their business stagnates, and they are not able to reach their full potential as agri-entrepreneurs.
Investing in women is simply smart economics. This has been acknowledged by the European Union, the African development bank, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and now all the Development Finance Institutions (DFI’s) who have signed up to the 2XChallenge. Impact investing in female agri-entrepreneurs helps to create more jobs and prepares a sustainable, long-term path for young women to follow.
There is N0 shortage of Funds!. The finance community including development banks, commercial banks and social impact funds find it challenging to source an adequate pipeline of bankable projects with a gender lens. LadyAgri bridges this divide by linking bankable women led agri-businesses with the financial and investment community through pre-investment technical assistance. Once the investment is granted we stay with the agri-business throughout the investment lifecycle supporting them to get to the next growth stage.
