Join us to explore the transformative potential of commodities at the UN’s LDC5 conference
We’re hosting two side events with our partners, focussing on how to create economic opportunities where it is needed most, at the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, Qatar.
The UN’s once-a-decade LDC conference brings together governments, civil society and the private sector to accelerate development where poverty is most entrenched. LDC5 is particularly critical because of the multiple challenges LDCs face right now, from global political and economic instability to the ongoing impact of the Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine.
The theme for this year’s conference is how to turn potential into prosperity. Our events, both on 5 March, will explore the vital role investing in commodities can play in supporting agribusinesses to grow and enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. We will also show how our portfolio of investments demonstrates the value of strengthening links between smallholders and SMEs in the agricultural sector.
The first will highlight the potential of nutraceuticals (health foods and supplements) to diversify the economies of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs). The event will showcase a joint CFC and UNCTAD report into how LLDCs can tap into the growing nutraceuticals market, followed by a discussion of the findings by an expert panel including CFC Managing Director Amb. Mohammed Belal and UNCTAD commodity experts.
The report highlights case studies from Nepal, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso , Bolivia and Azerbaijan with specific suggestions for their export destinations.
The second event will introduce our Agricultural Commodity Transformation (ACT) Fund. ACT gives private sector organisations the opportunity to invest in viable SMEs in commodity-dependent developing countries, while benefitting from our expertise in supporting equitable, low-carbon supply chains. This will put them at the heart of transforming the agricultural sector in LDCs, LLDCs and SIDs to strengthen food, climate, and income resilience.
The panel will be composed of Amb. Mohammed Belal, Tammy E. Newmark, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EcoEnterprises Fund, an impact investor in Latin America. Ruth Kinoti, CEO of Shalem, will also discuss how targeted investment by the CFC supported her Kenyan agribusiness to transition from a grain aggregator to an added-value manufacturer.
The discussion will examine how public money can drive private investment, and the value of working alongside a financing organisation such as the CFC, that has decades of experience developing sustainable supply chains in LDCs. At the end of the session a Q&A will give you the chance to ask questions about the ACT Fund.
H.E. Ms Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary General of UNCTAD and H.E. Amb. Rabab Fatima, Under Secretary General and the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States are expected to join in both the events. Other high dignitaries from a number of LDCs are expected to join the panel as well.
On 6 March Amb. Mohammed Belal will also be sharing more innovative approaches to harnessing the agricultural potential of LDCs at the Private Sector Forum Thematic Session 2: Agriculture & Rural Development.
We’d love to see you at one of our events in person or online. Use the links below to watch them live:
Event one - Building Productive Capacities and Impact Investing in LDCs: The Case of Nutraceuticals – 5 March at 12:15-13:45 (Arabia Standard Time)
Event two - Agricultural Commodity Transformation Fund: A New Way to Finance Smallholders and SMEs – 5 March at 17:00-18:30 (Arabia Standard Time)