African Food Changemakers has announced an ambitious commitment to build a continent-wide network of one million entrepreneurs operating across Africa’s agrifood sector, as part of broader efforts to advance food security, climate resilience, and the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the continent.
The pan-African non-profit organisation made this disclosure in Abuja during its 2025 End-of-Year Agri-Food Entrepreneurs Mixer, an event that convened agribusiness founders, policymakers, and key ecosystem stakeholders to review progress made so far and outline forward-looking strategies for strengthening Africa’s food systems.
According to the organisation, the initiative is aimed at enabling SMEs to scale and succeed across the entire agrifood value chain, while tackling long-standing challenges related to food production, access, and sustainability. It emphasised that vibrant agrifood SMEs play a critical role in job creation, rural transformation, and building economic resilience across African economies.
African Food Changemakers revealed that its network currently comprises over 8,500 members spanning 49 African countries. The organisation described itself as a female-founded, pan-African platform operating at the intersection of entrepreneurship, innovation, and storytelling, with a mandate to strengthen Africa’s food ecosystem.
The organisation stated that its programmes are designed to support smallholder farmers, youth-led agribusiness ventures, and women entrepreneurs involved in agriculture and food processing. It added that achieving its goal of reaching one million entrepreneurs will depend heavily on strategic partnerships and well-targeted initiatives.
It further underscored the continued importance of agriculture as both a national and continental priority, noting that the mixer was more than a networking or social gathering. Rather, it served as a platform to highlight the individuals, policies, and enterprises shaping Africa’s food security agenda, employment generation, and long-term economic resilience.
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African Food Changemakers noted that a significant number of agrifood SMEs struggle to access the networks required for sustainable growth. By convening entrepreneurs from different countries and subsectors, the organisation said participants are better positioned to exchange insights, share innovative solutions to shared challenges, and collaborate in ways that transform systemic barriers into growth opportunities.
The organisation explained that it was established to provide African agrifood SMEs with access to peer-to-peer networks, market intelligence, funding opportunities, and policy engagement platforms needed to scale beyond local and national markets. In many instances, it observed, entrepreneurs benefit greatly from exposure to counterparts in other countries who face similar constraints and have developed practical, adaptable solutions.
African Food Changemakers also stated that its annual mixer is designed to celebrate agrifood entrepreneurs, deepen collaboration within the ecosystem, and spotlight the often under-recognised contributions of SMEs to Africa’s food systems. It noted that these enterprises operate across the entire value chain, including input supply, primary production, processing, marketing, and distribution, collectively forming the backbone of food availability across the continent.
During the event, stakeholders drew attention to persistent structural challenges affecting agricultural productivity, particularly limited access to land and infrastructure. Participants noted that Nigeria possesses millions of hectares of arable land, yet only a small proportion is currently cultivated, a situation that continues to constrain production capacity and investment within the sector.
Attendees also called for the creation of an infrastructure development fund to support land preparation and improve access to farmland. They argued that expanding the amount of cultivated land would enable farmers and agribusinesses to operate across multiple locations, enhance productivity, and contribute to improved security and stability in rural communities.
African Food Changemakers concluded by stressing that building a resilient and sustainable agrifood ecosystem requires coordinated efforts among entrepreneurs, financiers, and government actors. The organisation reaffirmed that empowering SMEs remains one of the most effective pathways to achieving sustainable food systems and inclusive economic growth across Africa.
