Healthcare

In the world of agriculture, Africa stands out for the degree to which smallholder operations dominate farming on the continent—most of Africa’s food is grown on small-scale farms. African farming also stands out for drawing in a low volume of venture capital investment.

But this could be changing. A new report shows how interest in funding African farming ventures by venture capital groups spiked last year and is on track to continue expanding aggressively this year.

At over 1.2 billion people today, Africa is experiencing the fastest rate of population growth in the world. Consequently, food demand is growing rapidly there, as well. Africa is also home to the world’s youngest demographic—North America, Europe, and Asia are all famously aging by contrast.

Yet last year Africa attracted less than 1% of all venture capital spending on agriculture—just $482 million compared to the nearly $52 billion raised globally, the report shows. The figure for the entire continent is about the same as the public-sector agricultural research budget of Nigeria or South Africa. Far too many potential food and agriculture investors still overlook opportunities in Africa