There is quiet gold beneath our feet. Yet, I can’t find plantain to buy, and it frustrates me. Some time ago, watermelon was also so hard to come by that its price soared from 10GHS to 40GHS for one. One guy offered me 75GHS, for one. I said “Take it!”
There is a quiet revolution waiting to unfold beneath our feet, one that doesn’t shimmer like gold or flow like oil, but holds just as much long-term value. I am talking about food. Not merely the calories themselves, but the systems that produce, store, distribute, finance, insure, and export them. These systems, collectively known as the African Food Economy, are often underestimated, fragmented, and undercapitalised. However, they are poised to become a significant, structured asset class.
You might expect me to advocate for investment in the sector, but that’s not what this is about. Ok perhaps it is but it also serves as a call to reimagine Africa’s food systems as a high-impact, climate-resilient, commercially viable sector. From land and logistics to agri-tech and cold storage, every element is measurable and trackable. And when these elements are coordinated, they become attractive for investment.
WHY ‘FOOD AS AN ASSET CLASS’ IS NOT A METAPHOR
Institutional investors already participate in agricultural markets. Examples include commodity markets, farmland REITs, and futures contracts. However, what Africa offers presents a different type of value. The food system here is not yet financialised, yet demand is immense and the need for resilience is vital.
Africa’s food import bill is projected to exceed $110 billion by 2025, according to the African Development Bank. By viewing food systems as an asset class, we begin to ask different questions: How can we develop revenue-generating storage systems? Where do we integrate fintech for farm-to-market financing? What are the returns on irrigation compared to rain-fed risk exposure?
In short, we should stop viewing food security as solely a humanitarian issue and begin considering it as economic infrastructure. These systems generate value, and that value ought to be captured.
WHAT MAKES A FOOD SYSTEM INVESTABLE?
Every strong asset class has five things:
- A value chain with cash flow potential
- Clear ownership and risk allocation
- Policy or institutional support
- Demand-side certainty
- Performance data and standardised metrics
Africa’s food economy ticks all five, at least in parts. But it’s fragmented. The goal now is to link the pieces into financeable instruments.
Let’s break down some of those investable nodes:
Primary production: High-value crops such as cashew, shea, maize, and soya are commercially viable when bundled through aggregators and cooperatives. Ghana’s northern corridor is seeing an increase in cashew farming, but yields remain inconsistent due to a lack of technical and financial support.
Storage & aggregation: Warehouses, silos, and digital inventory systems decrease post-harvest loss (sometimes up to 40%) and can generate rental income. In Techiman or Tamale, community grain banks could easily serve as micro-logistics hubs if adequately financed.
Processing infrastructure: SMEs transforming raw inputs into shelf-stable or export-ready products generate value and create jobs. A shea nut is much more valuable when processed locally into butter or cosmetics.
Cold chains: These are especially vital for meat, vegetables, and dairy. It requires coordinated investment in off-grid solar-powered refrigeration. Automation is also an idea I explored with a cold store once. It significantly changes how financial institutions view things when technology and predictability are high.
Logistics and last-mile: From haulage to motorbike delivery for urban markets. Fleet financing models (like Pay-As-You-Go) are already in use, and platforms like MAX.ng in Nigeria or Jetstream in Ghana demonstrate what’s possible.
Insurance and fintech: Index-based weather insurance, mobile payment-linked lending, and blockchain traceability are already being piloted in Kenya, Nigeria, and parts of Ghana. Products that reward yield improvements and climate-smart practices could help build a credit profile for farmers who have never used a bank.
Each of these nodes can attract private equity, development finance, and even sovereign wealth participation if bundled with the right data and de-risking instruments.
FROM GRANTS TO GROWTH CAPITAL
One of the most urgent transitions for the continent is from grant-funded agriculture to commercially structured agri-finance.
That doesn’t mean abandoning subsidies or development aid. But it does mean recognising that subsidies should spark, not replace, private capital. Food system investments should be structured similarly to infrastructure deals, featuring blended finance, layered risks, and exit pathways.
For example, a $50 million agro-industrial park might be supported by a development loan from AfDB, complemented by equity from Ghanaian pension funds, and protected against risk through crop yield insurance backed by the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL). When these layers work together, expected returns can be achieved across different risk levels from concessional lenders to institutional investors.
GHANA’S POSITION AS A TESTBED FOR ASSET-CLASS THINKING
Ghana is uniquely positioned. Here’s why:
- It has a robust commodities exchange (GCX), which provides price discovery, aggregation, and contract enforcement.
- It has a developing green finance framework, including the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM), which could issue agri-linked or food-security bonds.
- Ghana’s mobile money penetration (over 80%) makes fintech-based tools scalable.
- There’s political attention on food self-sufficiency, especially after the shocks of COVID and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
- Agritech startups, youth-led food cooperatives, and diaspora-backed projects are rising steadily.
This makes Ghana the perfect testbed. Not for experimentation, but for demonstration. If we can build structured agri-finance products here, the model can scale continent-wide.
We should view Ghana not as a pilot site, but as a proof-of-concept for a continent-wide transformation.
INVESTOR APPETITE IS SHIFTING AND AFRICA MUST BE READY
Climate-aware investing is no longer niche. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has announced climate as a core investment principle. Others are following.
That makes food systems, especially regenerative, localised, climate-resilient ones, a top opportunity. But readiness matters. Investors want:
- Pipeline: Viable, vetted projects
- Data: Yield, price, weather, input use
- Trust: Local partners with governance track records
- Exit: Clear ways to get returns, whether through dividends, asset sales, or impact-linked performance
Africa’s job is not to beg. It is to prepare. Let’s turn high-potential projects into bankable deals. Let us demonstrate that food is a reliable, even superior, store of value. Transform tractors and silos into instruments of economic security.
FEEDING PEOPLE SHOULD BE PROFITABLE
Profitable. Not exploitative. Just profitable. When the basic act of feeding cities becomes a smart financial decision, capital will follow. And when capital flows in for the right reasons, systems strengthen.
I have tried not to be all “give us money” “give us money” “give us money”. But rather, “giving us this money is a smart financial decision oo and not different from the other asset classes you invest in”.
Let’s not wait for donors to fix the food economy. Let’s structure it to attract growth capital, deliver climate outcomes, and feed a billion people with dignity.
Africa needs to eat. But Africa also needs to invest in how it eats.
I hope you found this article both insightful and enjoyable. Your feedback is greatly valued and appreciated. I welcome any suggestions for topics you would like me to cover or provide insights on. You can schedule a meeting with me through my Calendly at www.calendly.com/maxwellampong. Alternatively, connect with me through various channels on my Linktree page at www.linktr.ee/themax. Subscribe to the ‘Entrepreneur In You’ newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/d-hgCVPy.
I wish you a highly productive and successful week ahead!
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The author, Dr. Maxwell Ampong, serves as the CEO of Maxwell Investments Group. He is also an Honorary Curator at the Ghana National Museum and the Official Business Advisor with Ghana’s largest agricultural trade union under Ghana’s Trade Union Congress (TUC). Founder of WellMax Inclusive Insurance and WellMax Micro-Credit, Dr. Ampong writes on relevant economic topics and provides general perspective pieces. ‘Entrepreneur In You’ operates under the auspices of the Africa School of Entrepreneurship, an initiative of Maxwell Investments Group.
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Dr. Maxwell Ampong, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or beliefs of Maxwell Investments Group or any of its affiliates. Any references to policy or regulation reflect the author’s interpretation and are not intended to represent the formal stance of Maxwell Investments Group. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. Readers should seek independent advice before making any decisions based on this material. Maxwell Investments Group assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content or for any actions taken based on the information provided.
