Left to right: Declan Kirrane, Managing Director of UN Science Summit, Nasser Alkahtani, Executive Director of AGFUND and Co-Chair of the Flagship, Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Executive Secretary of UNCDF, Stefan Schmitz, Co-Chair and Executive Director of Crop Trust, and Conrad Rein, Secretary of the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security

Today, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security (GFIFS) signed a Statement of Intent to work together on innovative financing solutions to create and grow equitable and sustainable food supply systems across Africa.

The joint initiative will use capital from public sources to mobilize private funding and catalyse commercial investment in order to break barriers to investment flow in agricultural food systems, particularly in high-risk regions such as the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.

UNCDF is able to improve access to financing for African Least Developed Countries through its strategic use of public finance to create de-risking instruments and mobilize private finance. For its part, GFIFS brings its expertise and strategic partnerships in using innovation to drive systemic change in food systems in Africa and around the globe.

Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Executive Secretary of UN Capital Development Fund, said: “Public money alone isn’t sufficient to finance the innovation needed to build resilient food systems and support vulnerable smallholder farmers. This is why UNCDF is excited to partner with GFIFS. By deploying derisking mechanisms and innovative financial structures, we can create new pathways for private capital to fuel sustainable agriculture and rural development in every corner of the African continent, especially in markets often considered too risky by traditional finance actors.”

Dr. Conrad Rein, Secretary of the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security said: “Working with UNCDF allows us to enhance our ability to leverage finance strategically and at scale, bringing lasting impact to communicate across Africa and accelerating progress to more resilient food systems.”

“This initiative marks a pivotal moment towards unlocking innovative financing that is critical to transforming food systems across Africa, particularly in regions like the Horn of Africa,” said the IGAD Secretariat. “IGAD welcomes this collaboration, which will empower farmers, improve climate resilience, and accelerate food security.”

“With this Flagship Initiative, we are opening a new chapter in our efforts to achieve food security,” said Dr. Stefan Schmitz, Co-Chair and Executive Director of Crop Trust. “Based on proven, scalable innovations, we will give smallholder farmers access to diverse quality seeds, water, knowledge, capital and local markets, thereby kick-starting sustainable and productive rural development.”

“By unlocking financing and mobilizing capital, AGFUND is committed to supporting small holder farmers and their sustainable agricultural practices specifically across Africa,” said Dr. Nasser Alkahtani Executive Director of AGFUND and Co-Chair of the Flagship. “By working together, we can drive long-term economic and sustainable growth in the regions that need it the most.”

In a video message, Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed praised the partnership, underscoring that “Today’s event also marks the launch of an important collaboration to support countries in their efforts to pursue these priorities. Working together, the Global Flagship Initiative, the Joint SDG Fund and UN country teams will seek to drive the kind of innovation, partnership and investment that is needed to deliver sustainable food system change at scale.”

About UNCDF

United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) mobilizes and catalyzes an increase in capital flows for impactful investments in high-risk markets, especially in Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States and countries in special situations. By crowding in capital through the deployment of risk-absorbing financial instruments, mechanisms and structuring advisory, UNCDF contributes to job creation and sustained economic growth in more than 70 countries.

In partnership with UN entities and development partners, UNCDF operates with speed and agility to deliver scalable, blended finance solutions to drive systemic change and pave the way for commercial finance and scale up by development finance institutions and multilateral development banks.

Learn more at uncdf.org or follow @UNCDF.

About Crop Trust and the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security

The Crop Trust is an international organization based in Bonn, Germany, dedicated to conserving and ensuring the availability of crop diversity for global use - now and in the future, for the benefit of all. Its vision is a world where plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are conserved and accessible in perpetuity to support sustainable agriculture and global food and nutrition security. [ https://www.croptrust.org ]

The Crop Trust hosts the Secretariat of the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security, launched on Agri-Food Systems Day 2024 during the COP16 UN Desertification Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This initiative is led by a global coalition of more than 70 development partners working to address food insecurity, poverty, and land degradation worldwide. [ https://flagshipinitiative.org/ ]

About AGFUND

The Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND), based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda by financing projects aligned with its goals and through the Prince Talal International Prize for Human Development, which serves as an incubator for projects supported by AGFUND.

AGFUND has established five specialized development organizations:

• Arab Council for Childhood and Development
• Arab Women Center for Training and Research
• Financial Inclusion Banks
• Arab Open University
• Arab Network for NGOs

AGFUND partners with more than 450 international, regional, and governmental organizations, supporting development projects in 133 countries - totaling 1,713 projects. [ https://agfund.org/ ]

AGFUND is a founding member of the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security.

About IGAD

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was established in 1996. The founding leaders of IGAD were motivated by a vision where the people of the region would develop a regional identity, live in peace and enjoy a safe environment, alleviating poverty through appropriate and effective sustainable development programmes. The IGAD Secretariat as the executive body of the Authority was given the mandate to achieve this goal. [https://igad.int/]