Press and News A4IP and the Climate Resilient Africa Fund are fostering a supportive ecosystem for agri-food and climate-tech innovations in Africa
Cairo, 12 March 2024 - The Climate Resilient Africa Fund (CRAF) and the Accelerate for Impact Platform (A4IP) - an initiative powered by The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT of CGIAR - are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. This agreement aims to establish an exchange network that actively supports climate and agri-food innovation through comprehensive initiatives focused on the development, deployment, financing, and scaling of agri-tech entrepreneurship ecosystems, primarily in Africa.
The collaboration between A4IP and CRAF entails the sharing and co-developing research in agri-tech, joint efforts in designing programs and initiatives to bolster agri- tech innovators, the creation of a robust pipeline of investment opportunities, and the facilitation of informative events aimed at building networking opportunities to strengthen the ecosystem.
The first joint activity will be the AgriTech4Egypt Innovation Challenge 2024 aiming at scouting and accelerating ambitious founders with promising solutions that address context-specific agricultural challenges in Egypt.
CRAF Managing Partner, Sherief Kesseba said “With this collaboration, CRAF furthers its ambition to play a leading role in unlocking food sovereignty and climate resilience for a burgeoning but hopeful young Africa”.
Gianpiero Menza
Senior Manager, Partnerships & Innovative Finance
"We are pleased to collaborate with a fund dedicated to investing in scalable, science-based agri-tech solutions for system transformation. It is crucial to identify forward-thinking investors who can support and de-risk the technological development of these innovations", stated Gianpiero Menza, Senior Manager Partnerships and Innovative Finance.
About CRAF:
Climate Resilient Africa Fund (CRAF) is an impact venture fund backing early-stage Africa startups at the nexus of food security, climate change and nature loss. It invests in biotech including new food groups, farmers platforms including precision agriculture, midstream supply chain innovation, novel farm systems and climate-nature data tools. CRAF has offices in Cairo, Accra, Nairobi, Johannesburg, London and Copenhagen. Its investors include private, governmental, development and impact capital.
About CGIAR / Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.
The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR works for a world with sustainable and resilient food, land, and water systems that deliver diverse, healthy, safe, sufficient, and affordable diets, and ensure improved livelihoods and greater social equality, within planetary and regional environmental boundaries. Our mission is to deliver science and innovation that advance the transformation of food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis.
For more information, visit https://alliancebioversityciat.org www.cgiar.org
About the Accelerate for Impact Platform (A4IP)
The Accelerate for Impact Platform (A4IP) is the venture space that leverages CGIAR’s legacy in research and innovation to co-design, accelerate, and de-risk the development and deployment of science-based solutions for sustainable agriculture and climate action. A4IP entrepreneurs pioneer models to bridge research products from lab to market, create demand for CGIAR science, and strengthen its role in the innovation ecosystem. The initiative plays a catalytic role for entrepreneurial scientists, startups, and other strategic partners driving innovation that will make our agri-food systems healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable. A4IP is an initiative powered by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT; a CGIAR research center.
