Accessing capital remains a challenge but a large deal for a local biotech firm last year points to the sector's potential, according to Israeli agtech incubator Trendlines.
The West African forestry investment company recently secured $10m from a Nordic DFI to help further fund its operations.
Phoenix Africa Development's 'Lion Mountains' project is raising $1.5m to start farming a small plot of land, a pilot phase it hopes will help raise further funding for the $22m project.
The law firm conducted a survey of 80 professionals across the agribusiness, banking, consulting, commodity trading, food retail and not-for-profit sectors and noted the improving conditions for agri investment.
CoBank, a national cooperative bank, has anchored the public-private fund with a $10bn commitment to be used in loans. The fund hopes to attract additional private capital from institutional investors.
The private banking arm of BofA Merrill Lynch has a growing farm and ranchland investment business, currently with $1.1bn in AUM.
Ascent Africa has raised $50m towards the $70m target of its debut 'Rift Valley' fund, which will invest a large portion of its capital in agri-related processing companies.
The Mexican government is anchoring its third Agribusiness Capital Fund, targeting $100m. It hopes to launch a separate fund to attract foreign private equity funds at a later date.
Fifteen British agtech firms are to receive a share of an £18 million agtech investment fund, financed by the UK government and industry partners. But the sector needs more funding, according to industry insiders.
Baring, BlackRock and Focus Investment Banking discuss the appeal of the precision agriculture sector and the limited opportunity in the listed market.