Leaders from government, development finance, and the private sector recently gathered at the FINAS 2026 Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss how targeted financing can support healthier diets and build stronger agrifood systems across Africa.
The specialized session, titled “Financing Agrifood SMEs for Nutrition: Country Approaches to Align Policy and Investment,” was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Kenya. The event brought together diverse stakeholders to map out practical approaches to funding nutrition-sensitive small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Opening the event, FAO Representative in Kenya, Ms. Farayi Zimudzi, underscored the urgent need for coordinated policies, strategic investments, and stronger partnerships. She emphasized that “investing differently” through inclusive and coordinated financing frameworks is key to building resilient, sustainable, and nutrition-responsive food systems across the continent.
Setting the context further, Tito Arunga, FAO Programme Manager for Sustainable Agri-Food Systems, highlighted the massive scale of opportunity within Kenya’s 7.4 million MSMEs. He noted that unlocking financing for these specific enterprises could accelerate public access to nutritious foods, create jobs, strengthen rural livelihoods, and drive a continent-wide agrifood transformation.
The discussion then moved to an expert panel featuring Elizabeth Yegon (Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development); Peter Chipeta (Malawi Agricultural and Industrial Investment Corporation); Joseph Ndiritu (K-Unity SACCO); Eddah Nang’ole (Aceli Africa); Blessings Mutheu (Incofin IM); AGRA’s Country Director for Kenya; and FAO international consultants Ana Raviña Eirín and Samuel Ndonga.
Together, the panelists examined how government policies can better guide investment toward nutritious food production, what makes agrifood SMEs truly “investment-ready” from a nutrition standpoint, and how financial institutions and development partners can collaborate to scale funding.
This side event was a key fixture of the broader FINAS 2026 Summit programme. The summit also featured high-level discussions on transforming Africa’s agricultural landscapes and unlocking finance for the continent’s blue economy reflecting a unified push to align policy, investment, and partnership around sustainable growth in Africa’s food sectors.
