Farming is the primary source of food and income for Africans and provides up to 60 percent of all jobs on the continent. Food production in sub-Saharan Africa needs to increase by 60 percent over the next 15 years to feed a growing population.  Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly half of the world’s uncultivated land that can be brought into production.  Together with abundant resources, strategic investments in agriculture can unleash virtuous growth cycles. How can Africa, then, capitalize on these opportunities?

Theme: Grow Locally, Enrich Regionally, Participate Globally

Dr. Tavneet Suri, Moderator

Tavneet Suri is the Louis E. Seley Professor of Applied Economics and an Associate Professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Her expertise is in the role of technology in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tavneet’s work cuts across multiple sectors, such as digital financial services, agriculture, and governance. Tavneet is editor-in-chief of VoxDev; Scientific Director for Africa for J-PAL; Co-Chair of the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative at J-PAL; a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research; and a board member of BREAD. She holds a BA in economics from Cambridge University, UK, and an MA in International and Development Economics (IDE) and a PhD in economics, both from Yale University.

Selamawit Mamo, Strategic Partnerships OCP

​Selamawit Mamo is an international development expert specializing in youth empowerment. She believes youth, especially young women’s engagement and participation is a pre requisite for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reaping a demographic dividend in Africa. An alumnus of the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), she currently works for OCP Group, where her role includes developing and managing strategic partnerships, identifying opportunities for the Group’s commitment to youth and community development and ideating relevant projects. She has had multi-disciplinary engagements with a variety of organizations including the United Nations, private and public sectors, social enterprise and community groups in Ethiopia, Senegal, Mali, South Africa, Morocco, United Kingdom and the United States. Selam has a penchant for gender equality, girls’ education and a deep commitment to Africa’s development. She speaks and writes fluent French, English and Amharic. 

Karan Kapoor, Managing Director Snow Group

Karan Kapoor is the Managing Director of the Snow Group; an Agricultural Inputs Distributor focusing on last mile distribution in Sub Saharan Africa. He has over ten years of experience in working with small scale farmers on various crops such as Cotton; Cashew; Maize; and Vegetables. He previously worked as an Actuarial Analyst in the United Kingdom on Defined Benefit Pension schemes. Karan founded Snow in 2014 with the company’s primary aim to be able to offer accessible high quality inputs to small scale farmers at affordable prices. Snow Pesticides have grown to be a leading brand representing trust and quality in the Agricultural Sector in Tanzania; Zambia; Malawi and Mozambique with a reach of over 4 million farmers. Snow’s success is attributable to the extensive research in developing distribution networks that are focused on the requirements of farmers and dealers in their localities. He holds a Bachelors in Economics and a Postgraduate in Actuarial Science from the UK. He was an active member of the Practical Impact Alliance with the MIT Development Lab in 2016. He’s worked extensively with various Donor Agencies developing sustainable solutions partnering with private organisations. Most recently this includes the development of a Digital Financial Toolkit aimed at increasing savings for farmers to access inputs at discounted rates in rural areas.  

Olawale Rotimi Opeyemi, CEO JR Farms

Olawale Rotimi Opeyemi is the Founder and CEO of JR Farms Limited, a leading agribusiness in Africa determined to transform Agriculture in Africa by undertaking opportunities for growth and business that will engender sustainable food production and increased incomes for farmers in Africa. JR Farms has agribusiness operations in Nigeria (Cassava value chain), Rwanda (Coffee value chain), and Ivory Coast (Cocoa Value Chain) respectively. Olawale champions agricultural initiatives with social impacts such as Inmates Farming Scheme- first of such in history of Nigerian Prisons; low interest farmers’ cooperatives supporting 93 farmers in Nigeria and over 500 cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast. Through his initiatives in the agricultural sector in Africa, he has created over 300 jobs and mentored hundreds of young Africans in DRC, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Ghana and other parts of Africa respectively. He is a leading African agripreneur and international speaker who has addressed global audience at high level meetings of various institutions such as The Commonwealth, Wilton Park, African Union, African Development Bank, UN FAO Africa, ILO, Switzerland Government among others. 

Buyambo Mantashe, Executive Director, Red Farms Agripark

Buyambo Mantashe is an "Agripreneur" that started his journey at the tender age of 21. Born from a lineage of agri-passionate family members in the rolling hills of the Eastern Cape, where agriculture plays an integral role in the provincial economy, Buyambo decided to pursue a career in Agribusiness. Buyambo serves as an Executive Director at Red Farms Agripark (Pty) Ltd. He has experience in various agricultural organisations, from being a Production Advisor at the National Wool Growers Association as well as a Junior Economist at National Agricultural Marketing Council. He also serves on an economic advisory panel appointed by the Governor of Lualaba Province in The Democratic Republic of Congo as an Agricultural Specialist. Buyambo is a firm believer in the changing landscape of the African continent, with specific interest on food security and the direct impact it potentially has on poverty eradication for the continent and those that live in it. Buyambo holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics at the University of Fort Hare (UFH). He subsequently obtained a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics (Cum Laude) from China Agricultural University (CAU), and an Applied Financial Management program from Wits Business School.

Dmitry Fotiyev, Partner Brightmore Capital

Dmitry Fotiyev is the Managing Partner of Brightmore Capital, a multi-sector impact investment fund and advisory group empowering the new generation of African entrepreneurs, enabling them to transform their companies into regional champions. Brightmore Capital fills a financing gap for SMEs in some of the fastest-growing and most dynamic economies of the world. The fund invests in a segment that is underserved by banks and other sources of private financing and targets market-leading financial returns while contributing to the economic and social development of the region. Prior to Brightmore Capital, Mr. Fotiyev worked at The Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms, managing a number of vehicles across global markets. Dmitry’s experience at Carlyle involved launching new business capabilities, integrating operations of acquired fund units, transforming the investor relations function, and corporate governance initiatives. Prior to Carlyle, Mr. Fotiyev was a consultant at Accenture. Mr. Fotiyev has a deep understanding of the private equity industry and VC/PE investments in Sub-Saharan Africa coupled with knowledge of the impact investing space and what it takes to maximize, scale, and measure economic and social benefits. His focus is improving the lives of emerging consumers while generating strong investment returns.

The agriculture panel is sponsored by