November 12, 2026 | 12:00–1:00 PM ET
How can investment strategies better capture the links between food production, nutrition, and health outcomes?
Women farmers play a critical role in food security, rural livelihoods and the resilience of agrifood systems, yet persistent barriers continue to limit their access to finance, markets, technology and other resources.
Join CAFIID for a global conversation on the role of investment in strengthening women’s participation across agrifood systems. The session will explore the connections between gender, food, climate, nutrition and health, and consider how investors and other actors can help build more resilient, inclusive and productive food systems.
Meet the Speakers
Oluwadara (Dara) Adekunle is the Founder, Managing Partner and CEO of Farmties Capital Limited, a trade and investment firm that provides high-growth agricultural SMEs with the capital, market access and tailored financial solutions they need to scale and compete in global markets. With over a decade of experience across agribusiness, development finance and investment, Dara has worked with farmer organizations, SMEs, corporates, development organizations and financial institutions to unlock markets, technology and finance for the agricultural value chain. She previously worked on the Development Finance team at Global Affairs Canada and served as Deputy Chief of Party for USAID’s Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity, where she built partnerships and mobilized investment for agribusiness SMEs. Her journey into agriculture began on the ground, running a moringa farm and trading agricultural commodities. That experience still shapes her work to unlock trade, attract investment and strengthen rural communities across Africa. Dara is also the author of The Journey to Significance.
Roberta Bove is the Senior Lead for Innovative Finance at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). She leads the Nutritious Food Financing Facility (N3F), a blended finance partnership with Incofin Investment Management comprising a nutrition-first debt Fund, making debt investments into SMEs, and a Technical Assistance & Impact Measurement Facility. With over 17 years of work experience in supporting SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa with technical assistance, impact investing, international development and corporate finance, Roberta leads GAIN’s work aimed at mobilizing additional capital towards nutrition.
Jessie Greene joined FinDev Canada in 2021. As Lead Investment Officer, she focuses on investments in the areas of agriculture, forestry and related value chains. Previously, she held different impact investing roles at Développement international Desjardins in Canada, and with Triple Jump Fund Management in the Netherlands. Jessie has a PhD in Agricultural Economics, with a focus on small business governance. She has also conducted and published research on women-owned farms in Canada.
AJ Nafziger is a gender equality and social inclusion technical specialist with Mennonite Economic Development associates, based in Lancaster, PA, USA. They hold a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and a Master’s degree in International Development from Eastern University, St. Davids. They bring 15 years of experience in the International Development Sector working in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa. Their skills include intersectional analysis, gender equality and social inclusion strategy development and implementation, inclusive finance, project design, and feminist monitoring evaluation and learning for projects funded by Global Affairs Canada, USAID, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
AJ is a senior GESI specialist with 15 years of experience in the development sector working in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa. Their skills include intersectional analysis, gender equality and social inclusion strategy development and implementation, GESI-responsive agrifood value chain development, inclusive finance, project design, and feminist monitoring, evaluation and learning. AJ Nafziger is a senior gender equality and social inclusion specialist with Mennonite Economic Development Associates, based in Lancaster, PA, with 15 years of experience in international development across Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Africa.
They hold a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and a Master’s degree in International Development from Eastern University, and bring expertise in intersectional analysis, GESI strategy development and implementation, inclusive finance, GESI-responsive agrifood value chain development, project design, and feminist monitoring, evaluation, and learning for donor-funded programs.