News

Europe’s agri-food sector is rich in innovation and early-stage capital but lacks the financial structures needed to scale technologies from validation to market deployment. Two new reports, including one from Tech Tour supported by Bayer, highlight that the main barrier is not the amount of available capital, but its coordination and deployment, particularly in the critical “valley of death” between demonstration and commercial scale. Both reports argue that blended finance—combining public and private funds—represents the most promising way to bridge this gap, de-risking investments and unlocking larger pools of institutional capital. The consensus is that to translate agtech innovation into real-world impact, Europe must move blended finance from theory to widespread practice.

Samina Anwar, founder of MiiWa Capital, argues that Sub-Saharan Africa has reached a pivotal moment for agri-food innovation, driven by maturing markets, advanced platforms, and climate pressures. She identifies risk-tolerant capital as the main barrier, with the ecosystem now visible, adoption lagging, and climate resilience technologies urgently needed. Anwar emphasizes the importance of investing in female founders and farmers to unlock the sector’s potential and sees gender inclusion as central to scaling Africa’s food systems. With improved regulatory frameworks and infrastructure, she believes now is the time for investors to seize the trillion-dollar agri-tech opportunity on the continent.

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