In collaboration with early-stage venture capital fund Anza Capital, the SA Innovation Summit has launched The Foodtech Programme that offers promising South African food technology innovators and fast-growing businesses investment partnerships, mentorships and investment-readiness support.

Selected start-ups will stand the chance to access R7-million in investment funds; participate in the upcoming SA Innovation Summit, in Cape Town, from September 27 to 29; and pitch in the Water Innovation Europe Innovation Awards 2023 in Davos, Switzerland.

Competition entries close on July 24.

Prices have soared for a variety of food products, contributing to rising inflation worldwide. Some of these products include sunflower oil, palm oil, fertilisers and grains.

In South Africa, cooking oil and vegetable oils have seen 50% to 100% price increases. There are fears of food insecurity and scarcity, with rippling effects that impact the poor the most, where spiking child motility, malnutrition and crime rates have been correlated with people falling under the poverty line, the SA Innovation Summit says.

“At a national level, South Africa is a relatively food secure country; however, this does not always translate to communities on the ground. More than ever, there is a need for innovative solutions and sustainable practices in food production and consumption to address these challenges,” the innovation platform says.

This programme will provide a platform for seed to Series A start-ups that are transforming the landscape in the food value chain in South Africa to gain exposure, scale and become sustainable businesses, while ensuring a sustainable food supply to communities.

“Close to 20% of the world population lives in Africa, and yet Africa only accounts for less than 2% of the global agrifood tech investment in 2021, leading to missed untapped opportunities owing to a lack of early-stage seed capital.

“Anza Capital collaborating with the SA Innovation Summit aims to provide FoodTech innovative entrepreneurial ventures with access to growth capital that can help them take off,” Anza Capital head of investments Van-Lee Gunyere says.

“The SA Innovation Summit believes that African entrepreneurs build the continent and, as an innovation platform, we exist to connect them to resources that support them to achieve this,” adds SA Innovation Summit CEO Buntu Majaja.

“Our partnership with Anza Capital aims to address one of the biggest questions for the Africa rising narrative, which is: how can a meal at an inexpensive restaurant in Zambia cost seven-times more than the same meal in the UK when accounting for gross domestic product per capita? We believe that talented and innovative FoodTech start-ups will contribute to raising accessibility for food security,” he says.