Our Co-founder Katherine Keddie spoke at the Innovative Financing for Agri-food Systems Transformation workshop at Building Bridges 2024.

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Building Bridges is a Geneva-based event that unites global leaders from finance, government, the UN, NGOs and academia. It aims to drive the shift to a global economy that sustains and regenerates the planet.

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The workshop, hosted by EIT Food, The World Economic Forum Food Innovation Hubs, Foodvalley NL and Clarmondial, tackled the challenges of financing regenerative agriculture. The challenges discussed included high upfront costs, inconsistent data verification, and the need for tailored financial products.

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Discussions also explored solutions like longer-term loan products for farmers, public-private partnerships, and tools like carbon and biodiversity credits.

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In her wrap-up of the session, Kat highlighted key takeaways from the workshop, including the importance of innovative financial models such as blended finance and risk-sharing frameworks and the role of data and collaboration in unlocking investment and scaling solutions.

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She also reinforced the fact that addressing these challenges requires shared responsibility across public and private stakeholders to support farmers, distribute risk, and drive long-term transformation in food systems.

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Reflecting on the event, Kat shared: “To build a resilient food system, we must reimagine how we finance innovation. This workshop showcased the importance of collaboration to deliver real solutions. A huge thanks to EIT Food, The World Economic Forum Food Innovation Hubs, Foodvalley and Clarmondial for bringing together such an inspiring group of stakeholders.”