Lors du Sommet Dakar 2 sur l' alimentation en Afrique le 27 janvier, le Groupe de la African Development Bank et le Government of Canada announced that they have created a new special fund to support African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agricultural sector.

The new fund entitled Catalytic Finance Mechanism for Agribusiness SMEs is set up to catalyze and de-risk investments for agricultural SMEs. It will also strengthen agricultural value chains and improve food security on the continent. According to Beth Dunford, Vice President in Banque africaine de développement charge of Agriculture and Human and Social Development, “the Africa Food Summit noted a commitment is determined to fill the financing gap for SMEs and to create an environment that encourages private sector investments in climate-friendly and gender-focused agricultural solutions.”

Thus, for her, “the catalytic financing mechanism for agri-food SMEs will help unlock opportunities for these businesses in Africa, especially for women and young people.” To this end, Canada is contributing 100 million Canadian dollars (approximately 73.5 million US dollars) to the financing of the mechanism, which is hosted by the African Development Bank .