Theme: Building Sustainable Agribusiness Economy 

Access to finance and trade channels or markets, both vital elements in commercial agriculture still remain a huge challenge in Africa.  A very small % of all commercial lending is channeled into this sector and trading is either fragmented or individualistic which affects the overall costs and profitability. Consequently, financial institutions, which rightly determine viability by looking at profitability of any business, are hesitant to accept the perceived risks in this sector leading to inability for the farmer to access markets and funds

African Agri-Finance & Trade Forum brings together the four vital groups in the value chain - the regulator and policy maker, the farmer; the financier and the marketer.  This forum is a spin off and a widening of scope from the previous Agri-Finance Forum that has been happening for the last 3 years.