Results

Women in business are at the heart of FAO’s mandate to reduce rural poverty and achieve food security for all. That’s why in October 2022, 50 women entrepreneurs working in the agrifood sector across Sub-Saharan Africa were chosen to participate in the first year of the FAO-IAFN Women’s Accelerator Mentorship Programme for Women-led SMEs in Africa. Participants were selected from an open call for expressions of interest by a panel of experts from FAO and IAFN. CONNECT Portal will be regularly featuring the stories of the hard-working women who took part in the programme. You can read the first in our series of...

As part of the Accelerator Mentorship Programme, FAO is working together with the International Agri-Food Network (IAFN) to support 50 women entrepreneurs from across Sub-Saharan Africa to address key challenges and constraints and expand their businesses.  More than 80 women entrepreneurs came together on March 8 for Access to Finance, the third and final workshop organized by FAO and IAFN to connect up-and-coming women entrepreneurs from across Sub-Saharan Africa with leaders in agriculture, finance and business. The workshop gathered experts in the agri-food business and finance field to provide mentees with practical skills and knowledge to enhance their ability to obtain...

In a world facing a global cost-of-living crisis and deepening disruptions to food supplies caused by conflicts, climate change and the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the private sector has an essential role to play in ensuring that families can still put food on their tables.  In light of this, FAO’s newly launched Private Sector Engagement Annual Report 2022 details the Organization’s approach to private sector engagement and the actions that FAO has taken to strengthen food security and nutrition in a time of global crisis. FAO also responded to these challenges by helping to scale up investments from the private...

Key takeaways from the Leadership and Human Resource-focused workshop of the FAO-IAFN Women’s Accelerator Mentorship Programme for Women-led SMEs in Africa  The FAO-IAFN Women's Accelerator Mentorship Programme for Women-led SMEs in Africa, jointly led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Agri-Food Network (IAFN), supports 50 women entrepreneurs from across sub-Saharan Africa to address key challenges and constraints and expand their businesses through one-to-one mentoring.  During the Leadership and Human Resources workshop that took place on 31 January, FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol delivered the keynote speech. She provided her insights on being a woman...

FAO recently completed the process for the establishment of the informal Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) - an advisory, consultative forum designed to boost FAO's engagement with the private sector in support of the 2030 Agenda. The first meeting of the PSAG was held on 31 January 2023 and was attended by FAO's core leadership, selected permanent representatives to FAO and 25 PSAG members – spanning from farmers' organizations, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, to large multinationals and industry associations. During the welcoming remarks, FAO's Director-General QU Dongyu invited the PSAG to offer its "candid and honest" advice on how FAO...