Tackling Africa’s Food Security with a $420k investment in the FoodTech Programme

FOR IMMEDIATE  RELEASE

13 July 2022

Tackling Africa’s Food Security with a $420k investment in the FoodTech Programme 

When South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the nation on July 12 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 seen 50%-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.

Selected start-ups will stand the chance to access R7 million investment, participate in the upcoming SA Innovation Summit in Cape Town (27 – 29 September 2022) 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. 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 7x (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” – Buntu Majaja, CEO – SA Innovation Summit

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.

“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”. Van-Lee Gunyere, Head of Investments – Anza Capital.

To enter The Foodtech Programme please visit: https://innovationsummit.co.za/the-foodtech-programme/or contact [email protected] for more information.

About the SA Innovation Summit:

The SA Innovation Summit is the largest start-up gathering in Africa that provides a platform for nurturing and showcasing African innovation, while facilitating access to funding, new markets and partnerships and business support. Created to support and promote innovation and facilitate collaboration, the event brings together entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, academia and policy makers from over 30 countries to accelerate innovation and inspire sustained economic growth across Africa.

About Anza Capital:

Anza Capital is an early-stage venture fund that invests into scalable tech-driven start-ups in Africa. Anza aims to unlock the immense potential of African tech entrepreneurs to create impact and prosperity on the continent with the key focus areas being Food, Energy and Space and Digital Tech. Anza Capital is different to traditional investors. The Anza ecosystem form a circular economy which de-risks the investments and delivers much more value to both our partners and portfolio companies. There are four pinnacles to Anza’s solution which include Origination, Financing, Mentoring and Growth strategy.

Social Media Handles:

Twitter – https://twitter.com/innovsummit

Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/sainnovation

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sa-innovation-summit

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sa_innovation_summit/