INNOVATIONS SERIES

Innovations Series: what is it?

In November 2020, the Pan-African Farmers’ Organization (PAFO) and COLEACP launched the Innovations Series aimed at showcasing innovations and successes of African farmerled businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The Innovations Series holds every two months shares best practices from entrepreneurs, farmers, agripreneurs and SMEs to support others to embrace the unprecedented opportunities offered by local, regional and export markets. The series focuses on innovations across value chains to transform food systems, promote sustainable agriculture and leverage investment. They support a sustainable food systems approach which looks at the contribution of entrepreneurs to business models which are economically, environmentally and socially viable. We share successes in production methods, access to markets and product development, with a focus on value-addition, technologies including digital solutions, nutrition and circular economy.

The Innovations Series also features the contributions of those who support an enabling environment for African farmer-led businesses and SMEs to grow and expand, create jobs and impact rural communities. The insights from policy (OACPS, European Commission (Agriculture, Trade, Development), NEPAD, GAIN, AGRF, ACFTA, AFSA), research (FARA, AKADEMIYA2063, IPES-FOOD, DeSIRA), finance (ABC Fund, AgriFI, FarmFit, Bamboo Capital Partners) and support to business development (Pan African Agribusiness and Agroindustry Consortium (PanAAC)) brought invaluable networks and connections to the entrepreneurs.

Events organized in the Framework of Development Cooperation between the Organisation of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union.

In collaboration with:

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Agrinnovators.org: for and by innovative entrepreneurs in Africa

We are delighted to announce the launch of Agrinnovators, a platform for African entrepreneurs passionate Read more

PAFO-COLEAD Innovations Session n°15: Technological innovations supporting agrifood value chains in Africa

Discover technological innovations in the agrifood sector that African farmers and entrepreneurs have developed and/or Read more

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Upcoming event

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Past events

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The 2023 World food Day – with the theme “Water is life, water is food. Leave no one behind.” – highlights the importance of water as a finite and essential element to life. Despite covering 71% of the Earth’s surface, only 2.5% of water is fresh and suitable for drinking, agriculture, and industrial use. Most of the fresh water available, 72%, is used for agriculture. Rapid population growth increasing the global demand for food production combined with urbanization, climate change… +

The next Innovations Session n°14 will focus on Climate-resilient practices and innovations by agrifood SMEs and will be held online on Wednesday 30 August 2023, 12:00-14:00 UTC. Find out more in the programme and join the discussion (available in English, French and Portuguese) led by the Pan-African Farmers’ Organization (PAFO) and the COLEAD by registering here. During this Innovations Session n°14, agrifood farmers and entrepreneurs will present climate-resilient practices and innovations that they have developed to support the sustainability of… +

Four inspiring African entrepreneurs presented the range of skills that they have developed to build successful and sustainable agribusinesses in Africa during the 12th Innovations Session, organised by the Pan-African Farmers’ Organization (PAFO) and COLEAD on 15 February 2023. The online session was attended by over 215 participants from Africa, the Caribbean region and Europe. The recordings of the session are available in English, French and Portuguese on COLEAD’s YouTube channel. Link to programme : English; French; Portuguese. Link to… +

On 28 November 2022, during the 11th Innovations Session organised by the PAFO and COLEACP, inspiring African companies demonstrated how their businesses based on the circular economy contribute to reducing food loss and waste (agenda ; speakers’ biodata). The online session was attended by over 170 participants from Africa, the Caribbean region and Europe. The recording of the session is available on COLEACP’s YouTube channel. The growing global population requires increased food production levels to address food and nutrition security… +

Over the past decades, agriculture has continuously expanded and enhanced its productivity to ensure food security and food safety to the growing global population in an unsustainable way. This has led to the loss of natural ecosystems, declining biodiversity and increasing greenhouse gas emissions1. The global agrifood system, which includes food production, processing, packaging and transport, is responsible for one of the largest shares of greenhouse gas emissions2 and thus is an important contributor to climate change. However, promoting more… +

The World Food Day 2022 highlights the increasing interlinkages of economies, cultures, and populations with its theme “leave no one behind”. Global health, planet and political challenges call for global solutions that include guaranteeing the access and availability of nutritious food, as well as reducing food losses and waste. These solutions should specifically be designed and adapted to rural populations as they are the most vulnerable to food and climate crises, with 80 % of the extreme poor living in… +

The 2022 International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (#IDAFLW) is a call for all to pursue the efforts in meeting the target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for halving per-capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains by 2030. 17% of the total food produced is wasted at the retail, food service and consumption levels.1 In addition, 14% the world’s food production for human… +

The young people of today and tomorrow play a central role in transforming food systems to provide access to sufficient and nutritious food, and adopt sustainable approaches to address climatic and environmental challenges. There are 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 worldwide (16% of the global population), of whom nearly 1 billion world resides in developing countries. Their numbers are growing far more rapidly than in higher-income countries.1 60% of Africa’s 1,2 billion population are… +

With respectively less than 10, 50 and 250 employees, Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of most economies. They account worldwide for over 70% of all businesses and for more than 50% of jobs,1 especially for women and youth. MSMEs work with millions of family farms and contribute to securing food safety and security, providing nutrition to local consumers and communities, as well as promoting innovation and creativity towards sustainable food systems. MSMEs are highly sensitive to… +

In November 2020, the Pan-African Farmers’ Organization (PAFO) and COLEACP launched the Innovations Series on innovations and successes of African farmer-led businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs, despite the numerous challenges they face, have unprecedented opportunities to supply local, regional and export markets. Moreover, innovation is a driving force in transforming food systems, promoting sustainable agriculture and leveraging investment. In this context, PAFO and COLEACP hold a two-hour session, every two months, to share best practices from entrepreneurs,… +