Agri SA, South Africa’s largest federation of agricultural organizations, has launched two pioneering projects in the South African cities of Limpopo and Mpumalanga as part of its efforts to boost the agricultural sector’s transformation in collaboration with the Motsepe Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe.
The projects, which were launched to drive commercial partnerships in the agricultural sector, are expected to reimagine development funding and foster greater collaboration to accelerate inclusivity in the the sector.
The Motsepe Foundation and Agri SA, through its subsidiary Agri Enterprises, identified access to capital as a key constraint confronting projects with real potential to support and advance emerging farmers, and have collaborated to find concrete solutions.
Due to legal and tax requirements, as well as the commercial nature of these projects, the Motsepe Foundation facilitated R70 million ($4.4 million) in funding for the first two projects through a company established by the Motsepe Family.
The first two projects under the initiative will create and sustain 1,541 seasonal and permanent jobs and affect 5,705 livelihoods.
Agri SA believes that its collaboration with the Motsepe Foundation will provide a new and vital model for the support of forward-thinking, private-sector-led initiatives aimed at promoting inclusivity in the agricultural sector.
“In the current phase, this innovative approach to development funding will be rolled out to more projects, and we look forward to seeing communities transformed as this partnership expands throughout South Africa in the coming months,” the company said.
Motsepe, the richest Black man in Southern Africa with a net worth of $2.7 billion, is one of the few African billionaires who has been busy with new projects and partnerships to drive shared wealth among Africans, as well as inclusive and sustainable growth across core industries on the continent.
Earlier this week, Motsepe revealed plans to increase sevenfold the continent’s renewable power generation through his energy company African Rainbow Energy and Power (AREP). The plans are part of Motsepe’s concerted effort to make AREP one of Africa’s leading providers of clean energy.
The recent move by AREP to increase renewable power generation in Africa is in line with its goal of adding up to 5,000 megawatts of assets. It has already invested in more than 700 megawatts and plans to invest in another 2,000 megawatts with partners by the end of the second quarter of next year.
