The Investment Forum includes two different sections:  

1. Presentation on “Ethiopia’s success story in attracting and retaining investments in its thriving agro-business sector”– led by the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) 

2. Investment pitching session 

The issue:

Access to financial investment plays a pivotal role in transforming agro-food systems, boosting productivity, and fostering innovation in agriculture leading to increased food security. Without adequate financial support, smallholder farmers, agri-businesses, and food systems cannot adopt the necessary technologies, improve infrastructure, or expand operations to ensure a stable and sustainable food supply. Investments are essential not only for improving agricultural production but also for value chain development, storage and processing, supply chain efficiency, and the reduction of food waste. 

Objectives:

The EIC’s kick-off presentation titled “Investing in Ethiopia’s agri-business sector presentation” will highlight the important role of government reforms, infrastructure development and investment facilitation services in attracting and retaining private sector investments, both domestic and foreign direct investments (FDI), in Ethiopia’s agro-business sector. This includes cotton production, livestock, poultry, production of fruits and vegetables, wheat, pulses, animal feed, and others. It will also showcase further food security-related investment opportunities in Ethiopia, many of which are showcased on its website as well as on the Ethiopia section of UNIDO’s Invest in ACP Platform.  

The Investment Pitching Session will convene facilitators and project owners in the fields of sustainable agriculture, production and agro-processing infrastructure to connect with potential investors. The goal is to generate investment leads. The objective of the session is to create a dynamic platform to pitch greenfield and SME-based projects in food security, sustainable agriculture, production, and agro-processing infrastructure to a group of selected potential investors. Ideally, the investment projects will be able to secure funding because of this Investment Forum.  

Expected outcomes:

The expected outcomes of the session include: 

• Securing expressions of interest or commitments from investors for the presented projects, along with the initiation of discussions on potential partnerships, joint ventures, or strategic alliances between project owners and investors.  

• Project owners will receive feedback from investors, enabling them to refine their proposals and better align with market demands and investment criteria.  

• Additionally, the session is expected to raise investor awareness of the significant investment potential in sustainable agriculture, food security, and agro-processing infrastructure, while advocating for increased investment in these sectors due to their critical role in achieving global food security goals.  

• The presentation of EIC is expected to raise further interest amongst potential investors to (re-) invest in Ethiopia’s thriving agro-business sector.  

Session format and structure:

Investment Pitching Session: 

Following the opening remarks, conference participants will attend a series of investment pitches (each lasting approximately 10 minutes; these are the winning project proposals from a global call for proposals by UNIDO called “Mobilizing Investments for Sustainable Food Security Initiatives” that was launched prior to the Conference). These pitches will present potential investors with investment opportunities across different ticket sizes and tailored to different investment portfolios.  

The selected pitches will range from traditional food security projects to innovative start-up solutions. A selection will be made from the following three categories: 

1. Large-scale greenfield projects focused on establishing new infrastructure for agro-processing, irrigation systems and the manufacturing of agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery, green energy). These greenfield projects can have a significant impact on food security and are particularly attractive for investors seeking large ventures, including development finance institutions (DFIs), impact investors and multinational corporations.  

2. Mid-sized projects linked to medium-sized domestic enterprises seeking to scale their market presence through the expansion of production, value addition, product diversification, improved quality management systems and certification. These types of projects respond to the interests of local-market or regional-market, seeking foreign direct investors, ready and are interested in engaging in collaborative initiatives like joint ventures or other forms of strategic alliances with a domestic SME partner. Impact investors, foundations and diaspora investors will also find opportunities in this middle investment ticket segment.  

3. Start-ups and entrepreneurs, especially young and female entrepreneurs, with innovative business ideas and technological, digital and financial solutions that can enhance transparency and productivity across agro-business value chains. These entrepreneurs typically require seed financing, incubation and accelerating support and are attractive for venture capital firms, impact investors or angel investors.  

Following the pitches, there will be a 10-min platform for responses from the investor community, where investors provide immediate financial feedback, express interest, and discuss potential investment opportunities. 

Moderator

Presentation by the Ethiopian Investment Commission 

Presentation on “Ethiopia’s success story in attracting and retaining investments in its thriving agro-business sector”

Investment pitches

Responses from potential investors