Abuja: A non-governmental organisation, African Food Changemakers (AFC), has expressed its commitment to building one million entrepreneurs across Africa’s agrifood landscape. Dr. Temi Adegoroye, Executive Chair of AFC, made this announcement at the organisation’s 2025 End-of-Year Agri-Food Entrepreneurs Mixer, themed ‘From Celebration to Strategy: Strengthening Africa’s Agri-Food Future’.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Adegoroye highlighted that the initiative aims to empower Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to thrive while enhancing food security and climate resilience across the continent’s food ecosystem. He noted that AFC’s goal is to establish a community of one million agrifood entrepreneurs across Africa, and the organisation already boasts over 8,500 members from 49 African countries.
AFC, a female-founded, pan-African non-profit, operates at the intersection of entrepreneurship, innovation, and storytelling to bolster Africa’s food systems. The organisation targets support for smallholder farmers, youth-led agribusinesses, and women in agriculture. Strategic partnerships and programs are key components in achieving its ambitious target, Adegoroye emphasized.
He also underscored the importance of agriculture as a critical national and continental priority. The mixer was more than just a social gathering; it served as a platform to spotlight individuals, policies, and enterprises that are pivotal to food security, employment, and economic resilience in Africa. Adegoroye stressed the necessity of a network for SMEs in the agrifood space to share knowledge, leverage strengths, and turn challenges into opportunities.
AFC was established to provide African agrifood SMEs with access to networks, information, funding opportunities, and policy engagement essential for scaling their businesses. Adegoroye noted that sometimes entrepreneurs need access to peers in other countries to learn how they navigate similar challenges and apply those lessons locally.
The mixer is an annual event designed to celebrate agrifood entrepreneurs, promote collaboration, and highlight the often-overlooked contributions of SMEs to Africa’s food systems. These entrepreneurs work across the value chain from input supply and production to processing, marketing, and distribution.
Dr. Michael Adeoye, Group Head of Finance Facilitation at the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), also addressed the event. He pointed out that Nigeria has about seven million hectares of arable land, with only 3.7 million hectares currently under cultivation. Adeoye urged the Federal Government to establish an infrastructure development fund to support land preparation and improve access to agricultural land.