Montreal (Quebec), 10 February 2026 – Canada’s bilateral development finance institution, FinDev Canada, announces a USD 25 million commitment to Phatisa Food Fund 3 (PFF3 or the Fund), a 10-year private equity fund focused on strengthening Africa’s food value chains and advancing food security, economic development, and gender equality across the continent.
The commitment will help enable PFF3 to support eight to ten companies across the sub-sectors of agri-inputs, technology and finance, processing and production, logistics, and retail and food services. Through these investments, the Fund aims to unlock greater access to growth capital for businesses across food value chains, including in Least Developed Countries, helping to drive more inclusive and resilient growth throughout the continent.
Food insecurity remains elevated across Sub-Saharan Africa, and is projected to persist, particularly in Central and Eastern Africa. To address this challenge, the Fund will support a diverse range of businesses that strengthen food systems, including enhancing distribution networks, increasing crop yields, reducing post-harvest losses, and cutting food waste. These efforts aim to help produce 4 million tons of food and food-related products, reaching approximately 50,000 smallholders and microentrepreneurs.
Africa is the second fastest‑growing economic region, offering significant market opportunities, yet it remains highly vulnerable to climate risks. As a result, Phatisa has developed a climate strategy that integrates climate considerations across the investment cycle to advance economic opportunity and climate action. This includes applying exclusion criteria for high-emission companies, assessing climate risks, and identifying opportunities such as climate-smart agriculture and decarbonization. PFF3 has set a 40% emissions reduction target and, building on the success of its predecessor fund, is exploring a climate and nature technical assistance facility to help portfolio companies strengthen their climate-smart readiness.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 76% of working women are employed in agrifood systems, yet many face job insecurity, low wages, and limited social protection. Their contributions are essential to supporting food security in a region with persistent levels of hunger. With the agrifood sector estimated to exceed USD 1 trillion by 2030, strengthening women’s economic participation is critical for economic growth. The Fund is committed to advancing gender equality by supporting 2X-aligned businesses and promoting gender inclusive practices across its portfolio, including increasing women’s participation in the workforce and across leadership positions.
FinDev Canada’s USD 25 million commitment includes USD 9 million from 2X Canada, a blended finance facility led by FinDev Canada and funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada. This will anchor the Fund’s first close of USD 86 million by bringing together a coalition of global development financiers, including BII, Norfund, Swedfund, and IFC.
The Fund is managed by Phatisa, a specialist African private equity manager headquartered in South Africa and Kenya, and has a target capitalization of USD 300 million.
This represents FinDev Canada’s second transaction with Phatisa, and supports Canada’s goal of enhancing economic cooperation with Africa, where partnerships are creating more opportunities to address development challenges.
“We are thrilled to partner with Phatisa, a long-standing leader in the African agribusiness. FinDev Canada recognises the importance of the food value chain, and the critical role it plays in advancing food security, climate action, and gender equality. Through our continued partnership, we can strengthen inclusive economic growth, while expanding our agribusiness equity portfolio through a pan-African platform,” said Paulo Martelli, VP and Chief Investment Officer, FinDev Canada.
“Investing successfully across Africa’s food value chain requires deep local experience, strong partnerships and disciplined execution. Food Fund 3 builds on over 15 years of sector focus and reflects our ability to originate proprietary opportunities, back high-quality management teams and build resilient, representative businesses that deliver both returns and impact,” said Stuart Bradley, Managing Partner, Phatisa.
About FinDev Canada
FinDev Canada is Canada’s bilateral Development Finance Institution (DFI), supporting development through the private sector. We provide financing, investment, and blended finance solutions, as well as technical assistance and advisory, to promote sustainable and inclusive growth in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris Agreement commitments. Find out more about FinDev Canada at www.findevcanada.ca.
About Phatisa
Phatisa is a leading African private equity fund manager. Established in 2005, the firm focuses on investments across the African food value chain. Phatisa believes that financial performance & impact are mutually inclusive. And persistently seeks to achieve the best of both worlds by driving impact & returns – concurrently – across its investment processes. By balancing commercial returns with impact objectives, Phatisa positively affects the lives & livelihoods of African people, whilst attracting institutional & development investors to the continent. In short, Phatisa provides more than capital. For more information, please visit: www.phatisa.com
Media Contact
FinDev Canada: Media@findevcanada.ca