The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in partnership with Royal DSM, the SUN Business Network (SBN) and African Business magazine is positioning nutrition as a promising new area of investment on the continent as its set to hold the first ever investor forum.
The Nutrition Africa Investor Forum (NAIF) is expected to bring together leaders from commerce, agri-food, development agencies, academia along with investors to share their experiences, present research results, explore collaborations and spark new ideas – all with the aim of developing new projects and attracting investment for high-impact nutrition businesses.
“Through years of experience working with African partners and governments, I am convinced that if we grow and support high impact businesses in food systems in Africa, we will be able to make inroads to reducing malnutrition,” Lawrence Haddad, executive director said in a statement made available to BusinessDay.
“The potential is huge if we can get the investment recipe right. We have a great opportunity to close that gap by creating a sustainable food value chain and working through local agrifood industry SMEs, to ensure that nutritious foods are more accessible, affordable, and aspirational,” Haddad explained.
Malnutrition affects millions of children across the world but Africa alone has an estimated 58.7 million children under the age of five having stunted growth, according to the 2017 Global Nutrition Report
There is no doubt that stunted children today will lead to stunted economies tomorrow. In fact, African nations lose between 1.9percent and 16percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) annually to under-nutrition due to increased mortality, absenteeism, chronic illnesses, and lost productivity, according to GAIN.
“Governments alone cannot address this issue. Private sector investment is key to tackle this challenge. In fact, the nutrition sector offers tremendous opportunities to businesses. There is a central role for business in tackling malnutrition in Africa,” explains Fokko Wientjes,vice president of nutrition in emerging markets and public-private partnerships at Royal DSM.
“As scaling up nutrition action delivers at least $16 in returns on investment for every $1 spent, nutrition-sensitive capital investments along the entire food value chain are likely to represent a tremendous purpose-driven investment opportunity. We will fundamentally integrate SDG 1 (poverty reduction) with SDG 2 (hunger & nutrition) by producing locally; Africa nourishes Africa.”
“Africa’s demographic dividend is also an opportunity, there are more than 1 billion people in the current African consumer market. This is expected to increase to more than 2 billion by 2050.
“With 226 million people aged between 15 and 25 years, the continent also has the youngest population in the world. This represents enormous potential: a young, growing African consumer market that is more health-conscious, favouring
The nutrition investor forum is expected to have in attendance over 200 delegates including dealmakers, entrepreneurs and investors.
The forum is schedule to take place on October 16 and 17, to mark the 2018 World Food Day in Nairobi Kenya.
