Africa food finance summit kicks off in Nairobi as Kenyans confront food insecurity

More than 1,000 policymakers, financiers and industry leaders are converging in Nairobi to confront a $100 billion (Sh12.93 trillion) annual financing gap that is hobbling Africa’s agriculture sector.

This is as the continent races to transform its food systems from subsistence into commercial engines of growth.

The Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainably (FINAS) 2026 Summit, scheduled for June 30 to July 2 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi, comes at a time when millions of Kenyans are grappling with soaring food prices that have pushed inflation to 6.7 per cent. 

It also takes place at a time Kenya and the rest of the African continent are grappling with rising hunger, climate shocks and a ballooning food import bill projected to exceed $110 billion (Sh14.3 trillion) this year, according to the African Development Bank.

The three-day 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.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe will preside over the opening session and launch the NASIP 2026–2030.

His Co-operatives and MSMEs counterpart Wycliffe Oparanya is also expected to attend.

The summit will also feature a high-level segment on policy alignment and coordination for financing the Kampala CAADP Declaration, with contributions from the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, AGRA and diplomatic missions.

“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.

“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.

Kenya 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) 2026–2030 to mobilise investments across county and national levels.

The blueprint aims to transform the sector from fragmented subsistence farming into a coordinated, climate-smart, and commercially viable engine of growth.

“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, mobilising 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, signalling 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.

“Financing must be results-oriented, delivering measurable outcomes to enhance agri-food sustainability,” Ronoh said. “Let’s move forward to improve efficiency, ensuring that every shilling invested delivers value”.