Nairobi to host mega Africa food finance summit as $100bn gap weighs on growth

Kenya will next month host more than 1,000 policymakers, financiers and industry leaders to tackle a $100 billion annual financing gap that is hobbling Africa's agriculture sector, as the continent pushes to transform its food systems from subsistence to commercial engines of growth.

The Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainably (FINAS) 2026 Summit, scheduled for June 30 to July 2 in Nairobi, comes as Kenya and other African countries grapples with rising hunger, climate shocks and a ballooning food import bill projected to exceed $110 billion this year, according to the African Development Bank. 
Agriculture contributes up to 30 per cent of GDP in many African countries and employs more than 60% of the workforce, yet receives less than 5 per cent of formal bank lending. Smallholder farmers, who produce 70–80 per cent of the continent's food supply, remain largely excluded from formal financing.

“FINAS 2026 is about moving beyond commitments to coordinated delivery,” said Prof. Hamadi Boga, Vice President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and Chair of the FINAS Secretariat. “By bringing together policymakers, financiers, and practitioners, the summit provides a platform to unlock capital at scale and translate policy ambitions into bankable investments that reach farmers and agri-enterprises”.

The summit, themed “Towards Sustainable Financial Architecture for Africa's Food Systems,” is organized by Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in partnership with AGRA, Germany's GIZ, and Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya. It builds on the FINAS dialogues launched in 2024, which have evolved from a national platform into a continental forum driving agri-finance solutions.

“FINAS began as a national platform in 2024 and has advanced into a continental forum advancing agri-systems dialogue from a pan-African perspective,” said Sophia Baumert, Project Manager for Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies at GIZ Kenya. “The platform holds all actors accountable”.

The summit comes as African leaders seek to implement the Kampala Declaration, a 10-year framework under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) that came into force on Jan. 1, 2026, aiming to boost agrifood output by 45 per cent by 2035. The previous Malabo Declaration fell short of its goal to eradicate hunger by 2025, with over 307 million Africans still experiencing hunger.

The government has increased its agriculture budget to Sh77.7 billion for the 2025/26 fiscal year and is rolling out a National Agri-Food Systems Investment Plan (NASIP) 2025–2029 to mobilize investments across county and national levels.

“The FINAS summit provides an opportunity to take stock of the funding in the sector and check if our goals have been realised,” said Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Ronoh, whose remarks were delivered on his behalf at the summit's media launch in April. “Financing must be results-oriented, delivering measurable outcomes to enhance agri-food sustainability”.

Stakeholders are exploring blended finance models, green bonds, and digital solutions to de-risk agricultural lending. In a landmark deal this month, fintech platform Kaleidofin closed Kenya's first private-sector local currency securitisation for smallholder agriculture, mobilizing Sh276 million ($2.1 million) for 23,839 farmers, over half of them women. The transaction received an investment-grade rating of BBB- from rating agency Agusto, signaling growing investor confidence in the asset class.

Separately, Ecobank and AGRA signed a memorandum of understanding on May 11 to strengthen agricultural value chains across Africa, focusing on blended finance and risk-sharing facilities for agribusiness SMEs and smallholder farmers.

The three-day FINAS summit will feature ministerial and CEO roundtables, side events and deal-making sessions focused on four pillars: policy alignment, innovative and inclusive finance, green and climate-resilient economies, and trade and investment. It will conclude with site visits to the Northern Corridor transit hub in Mombasa, Konza Technopolis and Tatu City special economic zone.

“Let's move forward to improve efficiency, ensuring that every shilling invested delivers value,” Ronoh said.