Event report

French Week Day #2: Agribusiness Day

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Kenya and France are joining forces to drive innovation and sustainability in Africa’s agricultural sector.

Our flagship event is all about bridging opportunities between France and Kenya. With welcoming remarks from our CEO, Laure Paugam, and opening remarks by our Chairman, the session underscored the strength of our partnerships and the exciting potential for collaboration in Kenya’s agribusiness sector.

Othmane CHAOUI, our Chairman, highlighted the need for collaboration to strengthen sustainable value chains, bringing France’s cutting-edge technology and innovation to Kenya’s agriculture sector. He noted the positive transformation underway, building resilient systems that benefit farmers, communities, and export opportunities for Kenyan products.

Our keynote speaker, Maurice Ouma, Deputy Director of Livestock Production representing the Principal Secretary for Livestock Production, spoke on the ongoing dairy sector collaboration between Kenya and France.

Emphasizing a move towards export readiness for milk products and opportunities in leather, post-harvest loss reduction, and quality enhancement, Mr. Maurice Ouma expressed the importance of research and private sector involvement in achieving these goals.

Martin Parent from the French Embassy further showcased the strengths of France’s agriculture and agrifood sectors, noting its diversified production, high standards, and leading position in global seed and cereal exports . With shared challenges in areas like post-harvest losses, food safety, and tech-driven processes, there are ample opportunities for French technology and expertise to benefit Kenya’s growing agritech sector.

The mid-morning session featured impactful presentations from Martin Parent of the French Treasury and Martin MONTBARBON from Elephant Vert, along with an engaging panel discussion led by Laure on advancing sustainable local value chains. Martin Parent showcased the French Treasury's financial tools that support agribusiness investments in Kenya. With grants, technical assistance, and sectoral studies, French companies are championing resilient, eco-conscious agricultural value chains across East Africa.

Presented by Melissa Baker and Samuel Muthoka, Ipsos highlighted agribusiness challenges and opportunities in East Africa, where agriculture drives GDP, jobs, and livelihoods. Despite food insecurity, low youth engagement, rainfed dependency and costly credit, the region’s resilience fuels innovation.
Key priorities include better credit access, cold storage, sustainable practices, and tech integration. With support, agribusiness could turn food security challenges into job growth, expanded trade, and stronger communities.

The afternoon’s focus was on the Farm'Innov Project, an initiative driving transformation in agrifood supply chains through collaboration between France and Kenyan industry actors. Led by Adèle Guérin - Farm'Innov Project Officer, the session featured Guillaume Polge, who introduced Farm'Innov’s start with support from Agence française de développement in Eastern Africa, the French Embassy, the Kenyan government, and Valorial, le réseau innovation agri-agro. Partnering with Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET) and Equity Group Foundation International, this project aims to foster knowledge exchange and private sector support for Kenyan companies and institutional players.

This powerful partnership between Kenya and France shows promising potential for a resilient, sustainable agri-food sector, boosting growth, increased market access, cutting down on post-harvest losses and mutual development

A big thank you to all panelists for sharing insights on how Kenya and France can collaborate to build a sustainable and innovative agribusiness landscape! 

Our sincere appreciation goes to our esteemed institutional partners—the French Embassy in Kenya, Service Économique Régional de Nairobi, Bpifrance, Business France, Club EnR Ville Durable Afrique de l'Est et l'Océan Indien, and Farm'Innov—for championing this impactful initiative.

We are also grateful for the support of our Platinum partners Africa Global Logistics, TotalEnergies, EDF, RUBIS Energy Kenya and Novotel Nairobi Westlands. A special thanks to our Silver partners—IBL Together, Agence française de développement in Eastern Africa, Proparco, Kipeto Energy PLC, CFAO Mobility Kenya, Lifecare International, Egis, and Caetano Kenya—for helping to make this event possible.