Session Details

8th AgriFin Learning Event

Theme: Enabling Rural Economy: Creating Lasting Impact for the Digital Ecosystem in Africa

8th Annual Learning Event

Day 1

Opening Remarks

Speakers:

Keynote Speeches

Speakers:

Stewart Collis

Senior Program Officer, Digital Solutions, Agricultural Development
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SESSION : Leaders Dialogue

Theme: The state of AgTech/Fintech oriented organizations and their stages towards scaling, ecosystem study

Session Overview:

This will be a panel, serving as the anchor session, to kick off discussions on changing the trajectory seen for innovators in SSA. The session will be driven by a presentation delving into the current landscape of AgTech and related technologies, focusing on their growth, maturity, and scalability. The discussions explore whether AgTech solutions are effectively achieving commercial success and delivering impactful results. Learnings from this session will provide an evidence base for supporting determined founders into the future. The trend investment report will be presented by Briter Bridges, through Mercy Corps program AgBase.

Session Moderator:

Sieka Gatabaki

Program Director
Mercy Corps AgriFin

Presenters/Speakers:

David Saunders

Director
Briter Bridges

Ali Hussein Kassim

CEO
AHK Corp

Toffene Kama

Principal Investor,
Mercy Corps Ventures

Tamara Cook

CEO
FSD Kenya

SESSION : Digital Agricultural Finance

Theme: Strategies and Pathways to Scaling Gender-Inclusive Digital Agricultural Finance

Session Overview:

This peer-to-peer learning session aims to reflect approaches for improving and enhancing strategies and pathways to scale gender-inclusive Digital Agri-finance. This focus is based on data and evidence indicating that cross-cutting issues continue to create barriers to equitable financing. These impact active participation in the agriculture supply chain. This session will start by sharing insights and learnings from MCA, development finance actors, and MCA engagement partners, who are addressing access, adoption, and active use of digital credit, savings, insurance, and payments for female and male small-scale producers. The participants will use these insights and their expertise to explore contextually relevant strategies and pathways, to increase the reach and impact of digital agriculture financial products, services and support.

Session Moderator:

Jamie Anderson

Senior Financial Sector Specialist
CGAP

Presenters/Speakers:

Jared Ochieng

Senior Agriculture Specialist
FSD Kenya

Munyi Nthigah

Co-Founder & CGO
Ketha Technology Limited

Ewan Wheeler

Chief Executive Officer
ACRE AFRICA

Andrew Ahiaku

Director, Head of Financial Sector and Country Programs
Aceli Africa.

Eric Massinda

CEO
FSD Tanzania

Masterclasses

Session Overview:

Agribusiness impacts in a climate context Session 1: A hands-on crash course on tracking what matters

Organizers: Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT (CGIAR) and ClimateShot Investor Coalition (CLIC)

Room: Mara 1& 2

[note: Participants are welcome to attend both sessions 1 (Day 1) & 2 (Day 2) for a more complete experience or opt to attend either session based on their needs and availability.]

Description: How is your business driving climate action? What value are you bringing to people and nature? And how do you measure it? Join us for an interactive session where we’ll dive into the essentials of crafting an effective impact journey. From shaping your impact vision, to collecting and reporting data, we’ll guide through practical steps and tools for measuring and tracking impact. Day 2 (3:30pm EAT) will feature in-depth explorations of some of these tools. Join us in this session and gain exclusive early access to the Impact Measurement Masterclass powered by CGIAR/ABC, CLIC and Partners launching in early 2025.

Facilitator:

Andreea Nowak

Research Team Lead for Climate Action,
CGAIR

Masterclass : Human Centered Systems Thinking

Organizers: IDEO

Room: Mara 3 & 4

This masterclass will combine the analytical tools of systems thinking with the creative mindsets of human-centred design to address complex challenges. Learn mapping tools to focus efforts, surface insights and select impactful solutions.

Gain insights to create lasting change by learning from case studies that improve systems that work for farmers.

Facilitators:

Alex Nana Sinkam

Design Director
IDEO.org

Larissa Bachia

Director of Programs & Partnerships,
IDEO.org

Masterclass: Drylands Financing

Organizers: SPARC

Room: Talek

Despite the significant value (in GDP, livelihoods, and food systems) generated by livestock, the sector is disproportionately underfinanced across the African continent. In Kenya, for example: private-sector investments in agriculture continue to grow somewhat steadily, but the analogue in livestock is negligible. Even with such barriers, demand continues to grow for livestock products, as does investor appetite.

Facilitator:

Alexis Teyie

Research Lead,
SPARC

Session Details

Day 2

Opening Remarks

Speakers:

Sieka Gatabaki

Program Director
Mercy Corps AgriFin

Keynote Speeches

Speakers:

Amrik Heyer

Head of Research - Financial Sector Deepening Kenya

Sriram Bharatam

Founder & Chie Mentor
Kuza Bishara

Sukriti Vinayak

Commercial Director
Pula

SESSION : Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture

Session Overview:

This session will explore the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in transforming the agriculture sector, with a focus on the African context. Understanding both the opportunities and challenges surrounding AI in agriculture is critical for realizing its full potential. Given that most AI-based agricultural solutions are still in their early stages, gathering insights from their implementation will be vital for informing and shaping future interventions.

The discussion will emphasize Africa’s diverse landscapes, languages, and agricultural practices, highlighting the need for localized AI solutions tailored to specific regions. The session will move beyond generic, one-size-fits-all approaches and focus on practical, region-specific AI applications that directly address the unique needs of African agriculture.

By setting the stage for this nuanced discussion, the session aims to create a roadmap for how AI can be successfully adapted and applied across various agricultural contexts, leading to improved outcomes for farmers and the agricultural sector at large.

Session Moderator:

Nathanial Peterson

Senior Scientist Climate Action lever
The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT

Presenters/Speakers:

Emmanuel Makau

Senior Regional Technology & Data Manager

Kennedy Senagi (PhD)

Post Doctoral Fellow
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

Jay Shapiro

Founder & CEO
Usiku Games

Nathan Wanjau

Lead Ai Developer
Usiku Games

Oscar Otieno

Deputy Data Commissioner
Office of the Data Protection Commissioner

David Lemayian

AI & e-Gov Lead and Founder & Principal
Qubit Hub & Tenery Research

Masilin Gudoshava (PhD)

Climate Modelling Expert
IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre- ICPAC

Dr. Stephen Mutuvi (PhD)

Post Doctoral Fellow
CIAT

Dr. Evan Girvetz

Principal Scientist
CIAT

Dr. Aisha Walcott- Bryant

Co-Lead Google Research Africa & Senior Staff Research Scientist
Google

SESSION : Digital Information Services

Theme: Towards sustainable Digital Advisory, Market platforms, Digital Smart Agricultural Services

Session Overview:

This session aims to explore the pathways for scaling digital platforms, climate-smart agriculture information, and rural advisory services. It will provide participants with an understanding of the support and technical assistance provided by MCA during the ADF2 grant, assess what has worked and what hasn’t from the perspectives of our partners and farmers, and chart a way forward for future programming.

Session Moderator:

Kristin Peterson

Sprout Platform Lead and Sr. Tech for Development Advisor
Mercy Corps AgriFin

Presenters/Speakers

Simon Mulwa

Assistant Director of ICT,
Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)

Jerry Chis OCHE

Founder and CEO
Zowasel

Backson Mwangi

Programme Policy Officer
UN World Food Programme

Samuel Karanja

Senior Regional Agriculture Manager
Mercy Corps AgriFin

Irene Warui

Senior Climate & AgTech Strategy Officer
Mercy Corps AgriFin

Josephine Okolodi

FTMA farmer service Centre

Hafsah Jumare

CEO
CoAmana

Abrhame Endrias

Founder and Managing Director, Lersha

SESSION : Digital Public Infrastructure

Theme: Building the Digital Backbone: Scaling Agricultural Solutions and Innovation with Digital Public Infrastructure

Session Overview:

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has become a critical focus for governments, technology innovators, and both public and private sector stakeholders globally. As societies strive to modernize service delivery, ensure inclusivity, protect privacy, and enhance data-driven decision-making, DPI stands out as a foundational element that supports these efforts.

In the digital age, while access to technology has surged, the digital divide persists, exacerbating inequalities influenced by political, social, and economic dynamics.

This session will explore why DPI is more than just a technological initiative—highlighting its pivotal role in governance, development, and delivering essential services. With particular emphasis on emerging markets and agriculture. The discussion will delve into how DPI can scale Agricultural services efficiently and inclusively, bridging divides and fostering equitable progress while addressing food security challenges.

Session Moderator:

Charlene Migwe

Digital Consultant

Presenters/Speakers:

Boniface Akuku (PhD)

Digital Agriculture Specialist, Food and Agriculture Organization

Christian Merz

Program Lead FAIR Forward: Artificial Intelligence for All
GIZ

Bertram D’souza

Chief Product & Innovation Officer
Protean eGov Technologies Ltd.

Sheena Raikundalia

Chief Growth Officer
Kuza One

Salim Kinyimu

Director, ICT
KALRO

Kirti Pandey

Director- Program and Solutions
COSS

Ani Ghosh

Data Scientist

CGIAR

Masterclasses

Session Overview:

Agribusiness impacts in a climate context Session 2: Collecting data, assessing climate & nature impact outcomes to attract climate finance with practical case studies from African MSMEs

Organizers: Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT (CGIAR) and ClimateShot Investor Coalition (CLIC)

Room: Mara BallRoom

[note: Participants are welcome to attend both sessions 1 (Day 1) & 2 (Day 2) for a more complete experience or opt to attend either session based on their needs and availability.]

Description: Your agribusiness is creating positive climate and nature impact such as reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity improvement, but you are not sure how to articulate and evidence them to potential funders/investors? Are you an investor seeking to advance the measurement of the effect of your agri-focused investments to boost accountability while enabling adaptive learning management? This session will share climate and nature impact assessment methods developed by the ClimateShot Investor Coalition (CLIC) team for agrifood MSMEs and practical case studies from Africa context, on key impact areas including post-harvest food loss reduction, agroforestry, improved use of fertilizers, reduced pesticide use, sustainable livestock, energy, transport and water management. Come and find out what key data agribusinesses should consider collecting as part of business processes and potential solutions to common data collection challenges faced by early-stage companies.

Facilitators:

Wen E Chin

Manager ClimateShot Investor Coalition (CLIC), Agrifood Investment Connector
Climate Policy Initiative (CPI)

Wong Ching Fung Janice

Lead Impact Lead
Climate Policy Initiative

Masterclass: Assessing the Commercial Viability of Business Models

Organizers: IDH

Room: Talek 1

For inclusive business models to thrive in agricultural markets, there is a need for them to combine both impact and financial sustainability. All too often, both ambitions are not met, leading to programs and businesses that fail to deliver impact or can’t be sustained as subsidies run out.

Over the last decade, IDH has applied our Inclusive Business Methodology (formerly known as the SDM Methodology) over 150 times across a range of contexts with the same underlying question “Under what conditions can inclusive business models be effective, efficient, resilient and create a sustainable return on investment at scale”. With our approach, we seek to identify the key levers that businesses can adjust to deliver impact in a more commercially viable way. In this masterclass, we’ll dive deeper into the methodology of how we analyze business models, share some insights from digitally enabled business models that we’ve analyzed, and highlight our observations on investment readiness.

Facilitators:

Rosalie Dekker

Innovation Manager
IDH

Wangari Nduta

Development Consultant
IDH

Masterclass: Case study on Drylands & Climate Information systems

Organizers: SPARC

Room: Talek 2

Climate information services (CIS) are increasing in numbers and types of offerings. Pastoralists in the Horn of Africa signing up and actively using these services is still limited. Why?

How can we make Climate information services more relevant, reliable and accessible within the array of climate adaptation tools pastoralists utilize?

Facilitator:

TAHIRA SHARIFF MOHAMED(PhD)

Post-doctor fellow
ILRI

Award ceremony for impact partners

Session Overview:

Award ceremony for impact partners

Presenter:

Sieka Gatabaki

Program Director
Mercy Corps AgriFin