Beyond Finance: Connecting women agripreneurs to markets and new opportunities at AAICE 2026

From left: Tiba Chryotete - Tout Pour la Cosmétic, Christella Ndayishimiye - TOTAHARA, Kadidiatou Doucoure - COFEPAK and Joyce Kinyanjui - Happy Cow Dairy

The Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF), in partnership with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), supported four women-led agribusinesses to participate in African Agribusiness Incubation Conference and Expo (AAICE) 2026, held from 4–7 August in Bujumbura, Burundi, providing a platform to showcase their products and explore new business opportunities.

Held under the theme “Advancing Incubation and Acceleration Ecosystems for Job Opportunities in Africa,” the conference brought together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and development partners to explore opportunities to strengthen agribusiness ecosystems and job creation across Africa.

The Matching Grant Fund-supported enterprises: Toukoula Cosmétiques -Togo, Totahar - Burundi, Cooperative of Women‘s Farmer of Kédougou (COFEPAK) - Senegal and Happy Cow Dairy – Kenya, used the exhibition to showcase their products, engage potential buyers, explore new markets and connect with potential partners.

Connecting women-led businesses to new markets
At COFEPAK’s exhibition space, Kadiette saw strong interest in the products she had brought from her region. By the end of the event, she had sold them all and left with new contacts for potential business opportunities.

“All my products were sold this time and I was able to have other contacts and opportunities in the future to collaborate and market our products.” - Kadidiatou Doucoure -President - COFEPAK

A similar opportunity emerged for Tiba Chryotete of Tout pour la Cosmétique in Togo. The company produces natural cosmetics, using cocoa by-products to make products including black soap, cocoa butter and shea butter.

“It was a real pleasure for us to make our products known, promote our products, have new customers and exchange with partners to have our products here in Burundi.” Tiba Chryotete - Program Manager -

At the TOTAHARA’s booth, the focus was on getting customers to experience the product directly. Christella Ndayishimiye introduced the company’s fortified maize and bean flour through ready-made porridge, giving visitors an opportunity to taste the product and provide immediate feedback.

“We are very grateful to GIZ and ABF for inviting us to this event, which facilitates connections between businesses and producers. We brought ready-made porridge for visitors to taste, and everyone who tried it liked it. We hope this will help us reach more customers.” - Christella Ndayishimiye (left) – Manager - TOTAHARA

Across the exhibition, these interactions demonstrated the value of bringing agribusinesses closer to markets. Meeting buyers, testing products with consumers and identifying potential partners can help businesses build commercial relationships and explore opportunities beyond their existing markets.

Beyond finance: Building investment-ready businesses
While the entrepreneurs connected with buyers and partners at the exhibition, the conference also provided a platform to discuss how African MSMEs can access the finance and support they need to grow

During the panel discussion on “Catalyzing Financing and Investments for Environmentally Sustainable Jobs in Africa,” Dr. Bernard Agbo, Advisor at GIZ, highlighted the MGF as a catalytic financing instrument and emphasised the Investment Readiness Programme  as a mechanism for preparing MSMEs to attract, access and secure investment.

Dr. Linda Etale, a Program Officer at ACBF highlighted the programme’s focus on women- and youth-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), noting that businesses need more than access to finance to become investment-ready.

“Through the Investment Readiness Programme, ACBF and ABF support enterprises to strengthen their internal systems and build practical skills in areas such as business planning and pitching. This helps entrepreneurs position their businesses more effectively when engaging investors and pursuing growth opportunities.”

The discussion reinforced a key message: finance alone is not enough. Businesses also need market opportunities, technical assistance, strong internal systems and the skills to present a clear and credible proposition to investors.

Building businesses that can sustain growth
The participation of the four MGF-supported enterprises at AAICE illustrates ABF’s broader approach to supporting agribusiness growth. The fund provides catalytic financing, while complementary support such as investment readiness, knowledge development and market linkages helps businesses strengthen their capacity to use opportunities effectively.

For the women entrepreneurs, the AAICE meant more than exhibiting their products. It provided an opportunity to meet potential buyers, explore new markets, exchange with peers and build relationships that could support future business growth.

The Matching Grant Fund (MGF) is an initiative of Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF) as part of the Joint Action "Business Support Facility for Resilient Agricultural Value Chains", co-financed by the European Union under the Samoa agreement with OACPS and by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.