Lessons from North America: Investors say agroforestry isn’t just climate friendly — it’s also profitable
Traditional investment models with need for fast returns have been seen as a barrier to attracting capital to regenerative agriculture and agroforestry projects.
However, investors are increasingly waking up to the opportunities to not only positively impact food supply and climate change but to ensure a healthy return on investment by transitioning away from conventional agriculture. A 2019 report showed $47.5bn of investments had been made into 700 projects in the U.S alone. Startups such as Propogate Ventures are successfully raising seed capital to help farmers transition from conventional agriculture to agroforestry.
A subject we shall explore in more detail at AfricaLive; what lessons can we take from the sector's North American growth and apply to emerging markets?
Baobab Capital
Namibia based Baobab Capital is raising $50m through the Baobab Growth Fund II to drive the growth of early-stage, fast-growth companies across Southern Africa. The fund will leverage off the success of the Baobab Growth Fund I which has successfully invested in eight companies in Baobab’s home market of Namibia.
The launch of the fund presents an opportunity both for investors looking to tap into the growth of early-stage African start-ups and for entrepreneurs ready to scale their business in the SADC region.
Impact investors channel over $400 billion into Africa
The 2017 African Investing for Impact Barometer (AIFIB) shows that investing for positive social and environmental impact or good governance is becoming the norm rather than the exception on the continent, with $428.29 billion in financial assets having been directed to this end in southern, East and West Africa in the past year.
