Financing a sustainable food system
Join us for a free webinar on the topic of financing a sustainable food system on December 5th in recognition of World Soil Day and the International Day of Banks.
The webinar will discuss the existing fiscal challenges of the food system at present, but will also address the different means of financing new forms of food production and distribution for a more sustainable global food system.
It will also include the challenges companies and investors face in determining what sustainability looks like across a range of production systems, in different sub-sectors, and across different parts of the world.
Based on a recent World Bank report – Food Finance Architecture: Financing a Healthy, Equitable and Sustainable Food System Food systems , today’s food systems generate $12 trillion in hidden social, economic, and environmental costs.
To address these costs, there is an urgent call to implement “food finance imperatives” with a potential to unlocking $4.5 trillion in new business opportunities every year. This will require both private and public funding to evolve more resilient, regenerative and sustainable agrifood production practices and citizen behavioural changes.
This webinar will host a wide range of experts across the globe from policy makers, researchers and industry leaders who will share their insights about the existing challenges and a series of options that could aid with the transition to a sustainable food system.
The webinar will be moderated by Christine Gould.
Agenda:
| 13:00-13:05 | Welcome |
| 13:05-13:25 | Marieke van Schie – SNV |
| 13:25-13:45 | Paula Almiron – EIT Food |
| 13:45-14:05 | Ifeyinwa Kanu – IntelliDigest |
| 14:05-14:25 | Panel Discussion Q&A |
| 14:25-14:35 | Break |
| 14:35-14:55 | Lorenzo Conti – Crover |
| 14:55-15:15 | Pauline Metivier – ReLondon |
| 15:15-15:35 | Gbadebo Odularu – No Hunger Food Bank |
| 15:35-15:55 | Panel Discussion Q&A |
| 15:55-16:00 | Closing Remarks |
Facilitators
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Dr Ifeyinwa KanuDirector, IntelliDigest and AFN Network+ Champion on BioeconomyShe holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering with research interest in the use of Artificial Intelligence to optimise Anaerobic Processes.
Dr Kanu loves nature and she is passionate about engineering solutions to address environmental and societal challenges. She is leading IntelliDigest on a mission to empower global food sustainability, eliminate food waste and zero hunger.
Dr Kanu is an Enterprise Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering and Royal Society of Edinburgh. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Associate Fellow of UK Higher Education.
Dr Kanu is a Champion of the STFC Food Network.
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Christine GouldCEO at Thought For Food
Christine brings more creativity and collaboration into the food and agriculture industry. As an entrepreneurially-minded leader and community builder, she is known for injecting energy and diverse perspectives into how we solve the world’s most important challenges.
As Founder and CEO of Thought For Food (TFF), she support the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs everywhere in the world with the mindset, skills, connections and investments they need to build locally-relevant solutions which can be scaled for global impact. Featured in media like BBC, Forbes, National Geographic, and WIRED, and working in partnership with major corporations, accelerators and donors, TFF has to date worked with more than 25,000 innovators in 175 countries – inspiring thousands of new business ideas, and launching more than 50 impact-focused startups on all continents and across all parts of the value chain that have raised millions in investments.
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Gbadebo OdularuFounder & Chief Strategist of No Hunger Food Bank
Gbadebo Odularu has dedicated nearly 25 years of his career to the global nonprofit sector. He served as the regional food policy advocacy and analyst for the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa for almost a decade. In addition to its food and nutrition security (FNS) knowledge expertise, he has garnered in-the-field food value chain experience at the Fresh Food Logistics Departments of major American multinational supermarket and retail corporations that operate a chain of grocery stores, and hypermarkets such as Walmart Inc and Sheetz Inc.
Gbadebo is driven by the mission to eliminate hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition by leading several strategic initiatives aimed at distributing nutritious food across vulnerable communities while
addressing the root causes of hunger. He currently leads the practice and establishment of food trade and digitalization academies which are aimed at enhancing food logistics and connectivity infrastructure towards expanding the percentage of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed (FFVC) by our priority populations, including infants, children, mothers, older adults, and the minorities. In 2019, Gbadebo volunteered for the Buffalow Family and Friends Community Days (BFFCD), in collaboration with the
Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. BFFCD is a family-oriented organization offering food, clothing, support, and encouragement to individuals and communities in Chesapeake, Virginia. Gbadebo has always perceived food banking volunteering as a great opportunity to replicate this initiative in Africa, therefore putting food directly into the hands of the hungriest. As No Hunger Food Bank (NHFB)’s Founder, Chief Strategist, and Editor-in-Chief, he is also responsible for advancing NHFB’s capacities’ frontiers for bracing it for the future of sustainable food and nutrition security in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). He is also affiliated with the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), Socio-Economic Research and Applications (SERAP), and the Bay Atlantic University, Washington DC, USA. -
Pauline MetivierHead of Business Transformation and Sector Support at ReLondon
Pauline is a French engineer with a top level scientific background (Ecole Polytechnique, Imperial College) and successful experience in leading cross-functional teams and projects.
She is currently the Head of Business Transformation and Sector Support at ReLondon. Which is a partnership of the Mayor of London and London’s boroughs to improve waste and resource management in the capital and accelerate the transition to a low carbon circular city. Their mission is to make London a global leader in sustainable ways to live, work and prosper by revolutionising people’s relationship with stuff and helping London waste less and reuse, repair, share and recycle more.
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Lorenzo ContiFounder & Managing Director of Crover Ltd
Dr. Lorenzo Conti is the Founder & Managing Director of Crover Ltd, a Scotland-based startup that developed the world’s first ‘subterranean drone’ (i.e. a CROVER).
Lorenzo is an Enterprise Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and holds a PhD in Engineering from The University of Edinburgh, where he worked on granular rheology (the study of how granular matter flows) and discovered the ‘CROVER effect’.
Crover’s proprietary technology for locomotion in granular media enabled the development of the world’s first device able to ‘swim’ through bulk solids and powders (e.g. in sand dunes, grain bulks, chemical powders) – named the CROVER robot.
While applications of the CROVER range from soil sampling on Mars to the recovery of buried objects, Crover’s first product is a system for the management of cereal grains stored in bulk (e.g. malting barley in sheds and silos). This helps grain storage operators identify critical conditions early and maintain the quality of their stock.
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Paula AlmironPartnership & Funding Manager, EIT Food
Dr Paula Almiron is a Social Scientist who specialises in Food Systems, Consumer Research, and Integrated Marketing Communications.
She is the Partnership & Funding Manager at EIT Food Northwest, responsible for Iceland, Ireland, and the UK geographies. She leads strategic collaboration and entrepreneurship in food systems. She connects individuals and organisations to produce advanced innovation.
Paula strengthens stakeholder engagement with funding schemes and like-minded institutions. She also trains partners, entrepreneurs, and food system students to increase their success.
She has advised the public sector on innovative policies (Buenos Aires City Government, Argentina) and social services (San Sebastian City Council, Spain). Paula’s background includes academics, where she worked as an associate professor and researcher (Marketing, E-commerce, Communication, and Negotiation).
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Marieke van SchieMulti Country Project Manager CRAFT project at SNV
Experienced Project Manager and (Agri) Business Development Specialist with a proven expertise in business development, inclusive market development, entrepreneurship and project management. With 20 years’ experience in Africa, Latin America and Asia, Marieke’s career includes work in the areas of development of agriculture value chains, leading multi stakeholder process facilitation, trade facilitation, (inclusive) private sector development, project acquisition, entrepreneurship, in addition to project and programme management.
