Nutrition

Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainably Conference 2026 

30 June-2 July 2026

“Towards Sustainable Financial Architecture for Africa’s Food Systems”

FAO Side Event:
“Financing agrifood MSMEs for nutrition: country approaches to align policy and investment”

 

 

EVENT DETAILS

📅 Date: 2 July 2026

📍 The Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi

 

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) require considerable investments to produce, process, and distribute diverse, safe and nutritious foods, but they often lack financing, despite global commitment to strengthening food systems in delivering healthier diets.

Financial institutions usually don’t have the practical tools or institutional processes to support and finance them effectively.

This side event, “Financing agrifood MSMEs for nutrition: Country approaches to align policy and investment”, as part of the Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainably Conference 2026, will explore how governments, banks, and development partners can work together to improve financing for MSMEs. Together with FAO, experts from public and private sector will take part in the discussion and will address a key question: what will it take for a country’s financial sector to invest in MSMEs in nutritious foods needed for healthier diets?

The session will present FAO’s country-level approach, designed to conve0ne all relevant government partners and national stakeholders to discuss a nutrition agenda that effectively engages the financial sector. It will focus on translating food-based dietary guidelines into food supply priorities and identifying opportunities for MSMEs that can be supported by the financial sector. It will explore existing gaps and opportunities for financing targeted MSMEs, while clarifying the roles of key actors and identifying the coordinated actions needed to unlock financing.

It will also showcase FAO’s framework and tools to support the integration of nutrition into MSME financing. Finally, the session will incorporate the perspectives from diverse stakeholders in Kenya and Malawi, including panelists from government, national development banks, private banks, and non-bank financial institutions.

 

In particular, the discussion will focus on:

  • Structural challenges in accessing finance faced by MSMEs in nutritious food value chains.
  • Translating nutrition priorities into practical investment and financing actions, tools and products.
  • The roles of governments and financial institutions in creating coordinated financing systems to support MSMEs.

The side event will promote a government-led, multi-stakeholder approach, showcase tools, provide practical insight and help increase investment in nutritious food value chains through partnerships. The forthcoming publication of the FAO guide for integrating nutrition into MSMEs finance can support countries committed to strengthening food systems for nutrition.

 

AGENDA AND SPEAKERS

Further details on the agenda and speakers can be found on the FINAS website.