FoodTech: $420k boost to tackle food security in Africa

When South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the nation in July 2021 amid violence and destruction of property in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, he warned of resultant risks. One of them was food security.

In South Africa, cooking oil and vegetable oils have since seen 50% to 100% price increases. There are fears of food security and scarcity, with rippling effects that impact the poor the most, where child motility, malnutrition, and crime rates spiking have been correlated with people falling under the poverty line.

At a national level, South Africa is a relatively food secure country, however, this does not always translate to communities on the ground. More than ever there is a need for innovative solutions and sustainable practices in food production and consumption to address these challenges.

In collaboration with Anza Capital, the SA Innovation Summit has launched The FoodTech Programme that offers promising South African food tech innovators and fast-growing businesses an investment partnership, mentorship, and investment readiness support.

Big benefits for Foodtech start-ups

Selected start-ups will stand the chance to access R7 million investment, participate in the SA Innovation Summit scheduled for 27 to 29 September 2022 in Cape Town and pitch in the WIE Innovation Awards 2023 in Davos, Switzerland.

“The SA Innovation Summit believes that African entrepreneurs build the continent and, as an innovation platform, we exist to connect them to resources that support them to achieve this,” said SA Innovation Summit chief executive Buntu Majaja.

“Our proud partnership with ANZA Capital to address one of the biggest questions for the Africa rising narrative. Which is: How can it be that a meal at an inexpensive restaurant in Zambia costs seven times more than the same in the United Kingdom when accounting for GDP per capita? We believe that talented and innovative FoodTech start-ups will contribute to raising accessibility for food security.”

This programme will provide a platform for Seed to Series A start-ups transforming the landscape in the food value chain in South Africa to gain exposure, scale and become sustainable businesses, while ensuring a sustainable food supply to our communities.

Van-Lee Gunyere, head of investments at Anza Capital, said, “Close to 20% of the world population lives in Africa, and yet Africa only accounts for less than 2% of the global agrifood tech investment in 2021, according to agfunder.com, leading to missed untapped opportunities by lack of early-stage seed capital. Anza Capital collaborating with the SA Innovation Summit aims to provide FoodTech innovative entrepreneurial ventures with access to growth capital that can help them take off.”

Entries close on 24 July 2022.  Click here to enter the Foodtech programme.

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