The Slow Food Movement originated in Italy in the late 1980s when founder Carlo Petrini and activists sought to counter the spread of fast food culture, catalyzed by the opening of a McDonald’s near Rome’s Spanish Steps.

Its core philosophy emphasizes "good, clean, and fair" food—meaning food that is flavorful and high quality, produced sustainably and ethically, and preserving cultural heritage.

The movement champions seasonality, locality, biodiversity, and social justice, resisting the environmental and social harms of industrialized food systems.

Since then, it has grown internationally, engaging more than 100,000 members in over 150 countries.

Globally, Slow Food has adapted to diverse cultural contexts.

For example, in Taiwan’s Taitung region, local festivals and forums celebrate indigenous food traditions, environmental stewardship, and community involvement, blending international Slow Food ideals with regional heritage.

Similar manifestations occur in Malaysia, India, and the Philippines, emphasizing indigenous ingredients and community education.

However, the movement faces critiques about its Western origins and concerns that international commercialization might dilute authenticity and overlook local complexity, highlighting the tension between global branding and genuine cultural integration.

Key contemporary proponents include the global Slow Food organization headquartered in Italy, along with activists such as Andrea Amato, Daniel Cruse, and Aruna Tirkey of India.

Initiatives like the Ark of Taste and Slow Food Presidia safeguard endangered foods and traditional practices worldwide.

Major events like the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto conference bring together producers, chefs, and advocates globally to exchange knowledge and promote the movement.

These places prioritize cultural resonance and sustainability over commercialization, offering immersive and genuine culinary experiences reflective of local traditions and values.

The Slow Food Movement originated in Italy in the late 1980s when founder Carlo Petrini and activists sought to counter the spread of fast food culture, catalyzed by the opening of a McDonald’s near Rome’s Spanish Steps.

Title:

Content: Breaking The Industrial Cycle With Slow Food

Where do you go to get your groceries? If your first thought was your local supermarket, you are not alone. Shopping in large grocery stores became the norm for many of us, and we rely on these outlets more than we realise. They are convenient, filled to the brim with seemingly every product you could imagine and have a price point that fits most pockets.

From afar it seems like the perfect solution, but we all witnessed what happened in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic turned life on its head and among many others, highlighted the fragility of our food economy and the part supermarkets play in it.

The University of Oxford describes our food system as “a complex set of interconnected practices and relationships that ultimately deliver food from farms, processing facilities, factories, warehouses, and retailers, to the dinner table.”

Slow Food

The industrial food system is built for scale and efficiency with an aim to maximise production, reduce cost, and function much like factories.

Although many supermarkets and producers are taking steps to include the origins of their products on their labels, there is still not enough transparency around where our food actually comes from. This industrialised structure offers customers accessibility to a wider range of products at more affordable prices but has economic and environmental impacts that many are not aware of.

Industrial agriculture is notorious for using a range of fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides in their processes to maximise output, some of which stays present in the soil long after the crops are harvested. The products are then processed in factories, stabilised with preservatives and packaged in plastic, all occurring before they are loaded onto long haul freights, planes, lorries to arrive in distribution centres and eventually to supermarket shelves.

BBC Good Food reported that “DEFRA estimates that moving food is responsible for 25 per cent of all miles covered by heavy goods traffic in the UK. Transporting food within, to and around the UK produces 19 million tonnes of CO2 annually – equivalent to around 5.5 million typical cars.”

The length of the supply chains involved in industrial food systems result in a fragile structure as any slight disruption throughout the intricate process can halt the supply chain at any time.

However, this industrial food system is not the only one available to our economy. While our modern supermarkets heavily rely on large-scale agriculture, large scale production and precise, uninterrupted international food trade and fast turnaround times, the alternative slow food system focuses on a more resilient structure.

As the resilient alternative to this industrial cycle that many in the industry are championing, Slow Food is focused on returning to the traditional methods and celebrating all things local.

The not for profit grassroots organisation, Slow Food was set up in Italy in the late 1980s in a bid to promote traditional food preparation methods and locally sourced ingredients, going against the arrival of the American fast-food chain McDonald’s in Rome. The eco-gastronomic organisation now has around 100,000 members in over 150 countries.

Recognising and raising awareness of the negative impact the industrial food system had on society, the economy and the environment, the organisation ignited a Slow Food movement: a new way of conscious consumerism that takes seasonality, locality and tradition into account.

A slow, or resilient food system can take on many forms, starting with us as individuals making a conscious effort to engage with producers, venues and outlets that are aligned with the slow food values, to foraging, growing our own produce and going to local farmers’ markets.

Any involvement in the movement can make a significant difference in local communities and build a more sustainable, resilient and eco-friendly food system.

As the first accredited Slow Food destination in Northern Ireland, the Causeway Coast and Glens have been spearheading the move toward this resilient system and together with Taste Causeway, the collaborative network of local food and drink businesses.

From exciting slow food events to highlighting producers and awarding them with Slow Food accreditation, Taste Causeway and Slow Food NI are putting local suppliers and venues at the forefront of consumers’ minds, one business at a time.

To find out more about how you can support the Slow Food movement, the businesses involved and the upcoming events on the Causeway Coast, go to https://slowfood.tastecauseway.com/

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On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

When did Carlo Petrini launch the Slow Food Movement?

Who is founder of the Slow Food Movement?

Carlo Petrini
An Italian sociologist and activist

Its core philosophy emphasizes "good, clean, and fair" food—meaning food that is flavorful and high quality, produced sustainably and ethically, and preserving cultural heritage.

Title:

Content: Local Local Focus
Let ’ s eat out of the Bay!
Invited to the Slow Food Annual Conference in Italy, Slow Food Spirit received international attention
The Hualien Slow Food team was once again invited to participate in the 2022 Global Slow Food Conference in Italy. (Photo / Courtesy of Hualien County Government, same below)
Reporting by reporter Wang Chao-lin / Hualien
In the past two years, Hualien County Slow Food Team was once again invited to participate in the 2022 Terra Madre Salone del Gusto Global Slow Food Conference in Italy. On the 16th, Mayor Xu Harwei and team members gathered in the county government to discuss the relevant agenda.
The Terra Madre Salone del Gusto Italian Slow Food Conference is a space for communication centered on agriculture and diet, and an event that draws the world ’ s attention to the diversity and tradition of agriculture and diet.
From September 22 to 26, the team will give participants an in-depth experience of the Taiwanese aboriginal food feast in Dulin, Italy.
The mayor, Xu Wei, and the team members held in-depth discussions on the relevant agenda, and encouraged the members to achieve the richest results and return full load.
Xu started by thanking Hualien NGOs for participating in international exchange activities and conferences, so that local culture and Hualien characteristics have the opportunity to shine internationally.
Hualien attaches great importance to promoting slow food in the local context, and the original intention of Hualien Aboriginal food culture and the spirit of slow food are "high-quality", "clean" and "fair".
In the future, the Slow Food Forum and the Organic Forum will be scheduled to be held once every two years, and the organization will be staggered to extend and improve the preparation period, so as to maximize the benefits.
The Hualien County government has been engaged in discussions on the Slow Food movement since 2019, inviting Italy, Japan, the Philippines and other countries to participate in the first Hualien International Slow Food Forum, sorting out the local context and international development trends, and establishing a development direction for Hualien Indigenous Slow Food.
Two years later, the county government overcame the epidemic and held the second Hualien International Indigenous Slow Food Forum in 2021.
Through online meetings, people from Italy, South Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan were invited to discuss the current status of the global slow food movement and the new development of the future of slow food in Hualien.
Hualien Slow Food Association members attending this annual meeting include: President Wu Xueyue of Hualien County Indigenous Ethnic Wild Vegetables School, Indigenous Slow Food Small Farmer Biyingshu Team, Indigenous Slow Food Restaurant Seven Xing Tan Mumming Menu Cuisine Ho Chi Minh, Guang Fu Red Tile House Chef Cheng Yi, Dance Poetry Picking Workshop.
After that, 12 people, including President Gao Zhiyuan of the Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Voluntary Service International Exchange Association, and Youth Liaison Officer of the Taiwan Slow Food Organization, Hsu Gongyuan, and Director Deng Kelun of the Tribal Economics Section of the Indigenous Affairs Department of the county government, also went to observe and study, so that the county government will continue to work with NGOs to jointly promote the next stage of the Slow Food Project.
▲ ▼ The team will be in Turin, Italy, to let the participants deeply experience the food feast of Taiwan ’ s indigenous people.
The Slow Food Year 2022 will be held in Parco Dora, an environmentally friendly park in Turin, Italy, and will bring together Slow Food organizations and food manufacturers from around the world to discuss the environment, climate, public health and other issues. Parco Dora has become an important green center in Turin. The selection echoes the theme of the regeneration of the agricultural food system this year, and has also become a major highlight of this event.
Wu Hsueh-yueh, president of Hualien County Indigenous Vegetarian School, said that the Hualien Slow Food team will exhibit native seeds and important cereals during the annual meeting.
In addition, Chef Ho Chi Minh, a member of the Federation of Slow Food Chefs in Hualien, will lead cooks from the Asia-Pacific region to launch a cross-border indigenous slow food menu at the venue.
The 2022 Slow Food Salon will continue the spirit of the past, and with a new perspective and attitude, we will create a wonderful slow food movement with more than 30,000 slow food activists around the world in the new arena of Toulin.
Official Website: https: / / 2022.terramadresalonedelgusto.com / en /
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What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Conscious consumption
Enjoyment of good food

On returning to traditional food methods

A movement promoting high-quality, fair, and clean fisheries

The movement champions seasonality, locality, biodiversity, and social justice, resisting the environmental and social harms of industrialized food systems.

Title:

Content: Praise the slow pace of life.
Explore the fun of the world calmly
The idea of slow living negates the belief that a successful person should be busy or fast, and encourages the person to be present consciously at every moment.
Once the society is saturated with the new, it returns to the past, and this is what happens in art, decoration, fashion, and social trends.
From here, too, the slow pace of life can be seen as a return to the old calm in some way, after the rhythm of life has become too fast to keep up with.
The idea of a slow life can be a convenient orientation for those who are looking for a calm state of mind, trying to take a long-term view of life and the world away from constant stress, anxiety and gasping.
Slow living helps us live more consciously and clearly with what we value and need in life, where we do everything at the right speed, rather than constantly striving for speed.
The idea of slow living negates the belief that a successful person must be busy or fast, and encourages the person to be present consciously at every moment.
Life is better, not faster.
The idea of slow living is part of the broader slow movement that began in the 1980s in Italy.
After opening McDonald ’ s restaurants in the heart of Rome, Carlo Petrini and a group of activists formed a movement defending regional food traditions called Slow Food.
Over time, the movement has gained supporters in more than 150 countries, trying to encourage the enjoyment of good food and conscious consumption that encourages respect for seasonality, and to minimize the negative impact on the environment of food production.
Carlo Petrini ’ s idea began to take shape when he noticed the disconnect between farmer and consumer, due to the huge boutiques and fast food restaurants that fed central Rome and dramatically eroded local food traditions.
Carl Honoré, one of the most famous theorists of the idea of slow living, helped bring the idea to areas other than food when he published a book in Praise of Slow in 2004.
Awareness is growing about slow travel, slow thinking and slow action, all of which are examples of the different branches of the slow living movement.
Not all slowness is negative.
As more people were forced to slow down their lifestyle, interest in slow living increased during the epidemic period.
The search for the term slow life has increased by 4 times in Google and YouTube.
Although some of these images and videos depict a romantic rural life far from reality, for most people, the increase in research related to this content shows the desire to return to nature and seek hobbies closer to it, especially as a large number of people turned to remote work, which gave the opportunity to connect more with the self and search for what is truly pleasing, which is forgotten in the midst of a fast and breathless life.
The slow life movement gets rid of the negative connotations of the word "slow", which some may associate with laziness and non-productivity.
Carl Honoré explains the difference between good slowness and negative slowness, as good slowness is the deliberate slowness to do things at the right speed to achieve the best result.
On the other side, there is also good speed and bad speed.
Speed can be exciting and exhilarating in the right circumstances while the rush to finish things from just above the surface without going deep is just the opposite, because it causes distraction and is difficult to prioritize.
Essential elements of slow living
Slow living doesn ’ t mean we give up technology and fall back into old times, but it does help us give up distracting activities, make us reclaim our own time to become more present and aware of every moment in life, and help build stronger relationships and spend quality time with friends and children.
It also helps us build our own values, design the lifestyle that suits us, and dedicate time to what we ’ re really looking for, not what the fast-paced lifestyle of the planet forces us to do.
A slow life entails taking a break and redefining our relationship with things like a phone, tablet, or other gadgets like them, and then making room for screen-free time.
Honoré says, “The cornerstone of slow living is to form balanced and more humane relationships with modern technologies.
“We have to somehow learn when to go ahead with technology and when to slow down and stop moving between social media, the Netflix screen or even aimlessly surfing the internet. ”
Honoré also emphasizes the need to let go of the fear of rejection or being lost, and instead of trying to do everything, we should choose only what matters to us and touches us, without the worry of saying the word “no ”.
We must say no to everything that does not concern us and not increase the burden we place on ourselves.
We have to prioritize carefully and let everything else go, having grown tired of the speed with which we feel we are racing rather than actually living our lives.
We always wait for a moment other than the moment we live, which makes us feel that our lives are vanishing in vain.
Slow life solidifies deep pleasures and strong emotions, away from entertainment and shallow pleasures that fade away shortly and leave us burdened with feelings of frustration and loneliness.
Source: Websites

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

Since then, it has grown internationally, engaging more than 100,000 members in over 150 countries.

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

How many members does the Slow Food Movement have globally?

Globally, Slow Food has adapted to diverse cultural contexts.

Title:

Content: Taitung ’ s first ever International Slow Food Forum will be held on April 28!
International slow food representatives from Italy, the Philippines, India and Malaysia gathered at the Taitung County Government Hall to share the experience of slow food promotion around the world, and exchange and learn with local slow food practitioners in Taitung, making Taitung a new base for dialogue with the international slow food movement and linking up the southern island culture.
The slow food movement originated in Italy, has been popular around the world for more than 30 years, and has been promoted in Taitung for 10 years.
The slow food spirit of “Good quality, clean and fair ” comes from Italy, but it has grown up in Taitung with a rich variety of local features.
The Taitung County government specially invited seven international slow food activists and local slow food practitioners from Taitung County to exchange ideas on the eve of the first slow food festival this year, “from the festival to the day, from the traditional to the contemporary. ” The theme is to explore how traditional food culture can be practiced in contemporary society through the Slow Food Movement, and how the international Slow Food Movement can blossom in all corners of the world through the diverse participation of citizens and community power.
On the agenda, Andrea Amato and Daniel Cruse, from the International Slow Food Headquarters in Italy, first introduced the expansion of Slow Food from Italy to the world, and shared the classic Ark of Taste and Slow Food Presidia projects of the Slow Food movement.
In response to the International Year of Xiaomi 2023, Indian representative Aruna Tirkey will introduce the Xiaomi Kitchen in Jharkhand, India.
Nazlina Spice Station in Malaysia is an introduction to the local cuisine, starting from Laksa, to the preservation of Penang ’ s food culture.
Community power is also an important theme of this forum. The Gonnay couple from the Philippines and Ramon Uy Jr will discuss how the Slow Food movement can achieve the function of cultural inheritance and food farming education through community connection from family, community, organization, market, and tourism.
The local representative of Taitung, ibu istanda takiscibanan of the Bunun tribe, shared the history of restoring millet in the Kandeng tribe of Haiduan Township; Guo Lijin, CEO of Jinhetang, will talk about the experience and future vision of slow food in Taitung for ten years; and many Taitung slow food chefs and shop owners will join hands to show the strength of the cohesion in the local community.
Simultaneous real-time interpretation service is available, and people who are interested in promoting slow food are welcome to join us.
For details and registration, please go to
https: / / www.accupass.com / go / TTSlowFoodForum
2023 Taitung Slow Food International Forum
From Festivals to Everyday, From Tradition to Contemporary
Date: 4 / 28 (Fri) 09: 00-16: 30
Venue: Taitung County Government Hall
Taitung County Government Advertisements
# Slow Food # Taitung # International # Slow Food Movement # Italy

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

For example, in Taiwan’s Taitung region, local festivals and forums celebrate indigenous food traditions, environmental stewardship, and community involvement, blending international Slow Food ideals with regional heritage.

Title:

Content: The first International Slow Food Forum was held today at the Taitung County Government Auditorium. International Slow Food representatives from Italy, the Philippines, India and Malaysia brought experience from all over the world to promote slow food.
Wang Zhihui, deputy mayor of Taitung County, said that this year's Slow Food Festival "Morning Table" will be held in Taitung Forest Park on April 29 and 30.
The slow food movement, which has been popular around the world for more than 30 years, originated in Italy and has been promoted in Taitung for more than 10 years.
In the "Taitung Slow Food Festival" held every spring and autumn, the public and tourists pay more attention to the source of ingredients in their lives, practice environmental protection and plastic reduction, and tell new stories in the contemporary era with traditional ingredients.
On the eve of the first Slow Food Festival this year, the Taitung County government invited seven international Slow Food Movement advocates to exchange with local Slow Food practitioners. The theme of the forum was “From Festival to Everyday, From Tradition to Contemporary ”." Flowers? "and other issues, hoping to continue to move internationally and link the Austronesian culture.
The 2023 Taitung Slow Food International Forum begins at 9: 00 am on the 28th. Andrea Amato and Daniel Cruse, from the International Slow Food Headquarters in Italy, introduce the expansion of Slow Food from Italy to the world, and share the classic Ark of Taste and Slow Food. The Food Presidia Project.
In response to the International Year of Millet 2023, Indian representative Aruna Tirkey shared the experience of the local Slow Food Festival in India with Xiaomi Kitchen in Jharkhand, India.
In addition, Malaysia representative Nazlina Spice Station is a local cuisine, from Laksa to talk about the preservation of Penang ’ s food culture.
The ibu istanda takiscibanan, who represents the Bunun in Taitung, shares with the international community the journey of restoring millet to the Kandeng tribe in Haiduan Township, while Kuo Li-chin, CEO of Tinhetang, fully describes the experience and future vision of Slow Food in Taitung for ten years.
International speakers will participate in the Taitung Slow Food Festival “Morning Table ” held in Taitung Forest Park on the 29th and 30th, and demonstrate the traditional breakfast of Indian and Filipino aborigines on the 30th. The event is free of charge. Please refer to the full text of the forum download website (https: / / reurl.cc / pL0XvZ), and Taitung Slow Food Food Festival information (https: / / www.facebook.com / SlowFoodTaitung /).
# International Slow Food Forum # Taitung Slow Food Festival # Taitung County Government # Slow Food Festival

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

Which county in Taiwan has hosted Slow Food Festival?

Similar manifestations occur in Malaysia, India, and the Philippines, emphasizing indigenous ingredients and community education.

On returning to traditional food methods

However, the movement faces critiques about its Western origins and concerns that international commercialization might dilute authenticity and overlook local complexity, highlighting the tension between global branding and genuine cultural integration.

Title:

Content: A View from Ukraine: Only with Solidarity Can We Safeguard Biodiversity and Lay the Foundations for the Future

Whatever their nature, crises have much to teach us. One of their fundamental lessons is this: Together we are stronger.

This belief underpins the Slow Food network. Wars, pandemics and natural disasters only highlight our awareness that we are one big community with a specific duty, to help each other and protect our Mother Earth.

The solidarity that we have seen in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion exactly one year ago offers a strong and concrete example of this. More than 400 donors from over 27 countries have donated over €47,000, pledging to support not only the safety of those who have fled their home country but also those who have chosen to stay and look after their animals, crops and villages, protecting the wealth of local biodiversity currently under existential threat.

Slow Food has seen evidence of the network’s solidarity from around the world. Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian Slow Food communities are hosting refugees; Slow Food Australia has collected humanitarian aid and sent it to the borders; Slow Food Prague has run workshops to showcase Ukrainian cuisine; and in France and Italy Slow Food has organized fundraisers in aid of Ukrainian producers.

So far over 60 communities have been helped by this communal solidarity in various ways, with a focus on assisting those affected by the conflict to carry on with their daily lives and save local biodiversity. At a time of war, safeguarding biodiversity might not seem a priority. But in fact it represents a vital foundation for a future recovery.

“War is total destruction,” said Andrea Pieroni, professor of Ethnobotany and Ethnobiology at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, speaking to us last summer. “It also puts at risk the entire biodiversity of a country, and consequently an entire traditional gastronomic heritage. The environmental consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war are manifold, and the effects fall (and will fall) as much on the present as on the future of each of us. But if a war can do damage, even more damage—and this time irreversible—can be done by reconstruction, if it does not respect the traditions and cultures that existed before, seeking instead to globalize and perhaps respond to global needs rather than local ones. The Slow Food network can play a key role in supporting Ukrainians to hold on to traditions, such as those of family production and farmers’ markets.”

The activities that Slow Food has been supporting in recent months include safeguarding traditional animal breeds by purchasing forage, providing medical assistance, distributing hatching eggs of local-breed chickens, providing farmers with seeds and plants of local varieties and helping to preserve local seed collections. The Slow Food network has also helped to purchase basic equipment, such as cultivators, fridges and wheelbarrows, for communities that have either been decimated or are hosting refugees. It has helped to fix a ruined school and buy containers for the meals being prepared by Slow Food Cooks’ Alliance cooks to distribute to the needy. For Christmas the network organized the delivery of food straight from farms to over 30 families where children were staying with their grandparents, so they could have good, wholesome food for the holidays.

“The money that we have received from Slow Food is vital, both to deliver humanitarian aid to people in need, and to preserve these native Carpathian bees and their ecosystem,” explained beekeeper Vitali Pavlu. “It’s all part of a spiritual and moral outlook that we promote: to do things not because they are profitable, but because they are good. So we take with one hand and give back with the other, to create harmony.”

While some have donated financially, others have chosen to donate their time and work. Just one example out of many: Dutch Slow Food Cooks’ Alliance member Jeroen van Nijnatten and his partner Marike Reinhard. Normally working as a caterer, Jeroen is well equipped to cook on location. About a month ago he and Marike packed their van full of cooking gear and ingredients and set off for the city of Lviv.

Their action was supported by the Ukrainian Education Platform and Kerk In Actie, a Dutch collective of Protestant churches. Since then, they have served about 1,400 pancakes in and around Lviv. Moving their mobile kitchen from orphanage to shelter to football stadium, everywhere the displaced happily queued up for a plate of warm Dutch pancakes. Marike has also been running yoga sessions for children in local orphanages. Says Jeroen: “The people we cooked for—mainly women and children of course—were very happy. The best part of these weeks was to see that they really felt supported.” Jeroen and Marike have recently returned to the Netherlands, but plans for a second trip are already being made.

Solidarity has also been on show in the places where Ukrainian refugees have arrived. Kateryna Prykhodko is a goat’s cheese producer and veterinarian who attended Cheese 2019. She fled from Kiev to Italy in March 2022, bringing three children, her mother and a number of dogs. In Ukraine, she had a farm called Dragonfly, located on the outskirts of the capital. Now everything is destroyed. But thanks to the hospitality of Eros Scarafoni and his family at the Fontegranne farm in the countryside near Fermo, in the Marche, Kateryna has found not just a safe haven but also the opportunity to continue her work as a cheesemaker, teaching the locals the secrets of her blue goat’s cheese. Local and regional Slow Food coordinators are working closely with her to promote her Italo-Ukrainian cheeses, organizing a series of meetings and events to give Kateryna a hand so that her Dragonfly can “fly” again.

“We are infinitely grateful to each of you, each community, each national association and the international headquarters,” said Slow Food’s coordinator in Ukraine, Yuliia Pitenko. “We are grateful to the whole extended Slow Food family for the quick and very effective assistance. We have been able to help those who are in the occupied territories, those who are near the front, those who are in Kyiv and those who received displaced people in western Ukraine, without bureaucratic obstacles. We understand that this is solidarity, real solidarity. We understand what heart-to-heart help means, and even now, when we don’t know what will happen tomorrow, we still want to invite you to Ukraine, let it be in a year, when we will have restored our country and saved our local animal breeds, seeds and gastronomic dishes.”

Each of these activities is a step toward the future we want to see become a reality. We are all part of a global network. And while safeguarding biodiversity, educating others and advocating for policy change in your corner of the world is paramount, progress begins with the exchange of stories, knowledge and projects across the globe and is built on the relationships we forge with one another. Only together can we cultivate a better future. Wherever we are, we are not alone.

See all of our updates on the network in Ukraine

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Key contemporary proponents include the global Slow Food organization headquartered in Italy, along with activists such as Andrea Amato, Daniel Cruse, and Aruna Tirkey of India.

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

Initiatives like the Ark of Taste and Slow Food Presidia safeguard endangered foods and traditional practices worldwide.

On returning to traditional food methods

Major events like the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto conference bring together producers, chefs, and advocates globally to exchange knowledge and promote the movement.

These places prioritize cultural resonance and sustainability over commercialization, offering immersive and genuine culinary experiences reflective of local traditions and values.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods


Foreign direct investment (FDI) in African countries has fluctuated notably in recent years, with pandemic impacts causing a 16% decline in 2020 to $40 billion from $47 billion in 2019.

Nevertheless, 2021 saw a strong rebound, with FDI reaching a record $83 billion, more than doubling the previous year’s inflow.

In 2022, FDI declined to $45 billion but remained substantial, driven by factors such as increased cross-border mergers and acquisitions, especially in Egypt where FDI more than doubled to $11 billion.

African regional groups including COMESA, SADC, WEMU, and the East African Community saw FDI increases, reflecting growing investment integration and opportunities facilitated by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a unified market of 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.

The AfCFTA is expected to lower trade barriers, enhance intra-African investment, and strengthen conditions for foreign businesses entering African markets, while offering African companies easier access to multiple countries, stimulating regional value chains and economies of scale.

Geographically, FDI concentrates in East, West, Southern, and North Africa.

Although North Africa saw a 5% decline in 2021, with investment rising in Morocco but falling in Egypt that year, other subregions recorded significant growth.

In terms of industrial sectors, energy—especially oil, gas, and renewables—telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture, fintech, pharmaceuticals, and health technology have attracted the most investment.

Renewable energy projects nearly doubled relative to 2011 levels, driven by Africa’s pressing energy needs and climate commitments.

The technology sector, particularly fintech and digital infrastructure, experienced a 66% growth in private equity and venture capital activity to $7.7 billion in 2022, reflecting expanding digitization and young demographics.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in African countries has fluctuated notably in recent years, with pandemic impacts causing a 16% decline in 2020 to $40 billion from $47 billion in 2019.

Title:

Content: Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
It has reached $11 billion.
UN highlights doubling of foreign direct investment in Egypt
The United Nations Trade and Development Board (UNCTAD) said in its annual report on foreign direct investment flows for the year 2022, on Wednesday in Geneva, that Egypt witnessed an increase in foreign direct investment more than doubled to $11 billion as a result of increased cross-border M & A sales.
Investment flows to Africa fell to $45 billion in 2022 from a record $80 billion in 2021 and accounted for 3.5 percent of global foreign direct investment, the report said, adding that international project financing deals targeting Africa showed a 47 percent drop in value.
The report pointed out that the number of announcements of new projects increased by 39% to 766, and that six of the 15 largest new investment mega projects (those worth more than $10 billion) announced in 2022 were in Africa, stressing that Egypt witnessed an increase in foreign direct investment more than doubled to $11 billion as a result of increased cross-border M & A sales.
The number of new projects has more than doubled to 161, and the value of international project financing transactions has increased by two-thirds to $24 billion.
FDI inflows have risen over the past five years in four of the continent ’ s regional economic groupings, with FDI in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) growing by 14% to $22 billion, and inflows also rising in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) (quadrupled to $10 billion) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WEMU) (doubled to $5.2 billion). East African Community (up 9% to $3.8 billion).
According to the report, the largest increase in 2022 was in new field projects announced in energy and gas supply (to $120 billion from $24 billion in 2021), and the value of projects in construction and extractive industries rose to $24 billion and $21 billion, respectively, while the information and communication sector recorded the largest number of projects.
European investors remain by far the largest owners of FDI in Africa, led by the United Kingdom ($60 billion), France ($54 billion) and the Netherlands ($54 billion).

Nevertheless, 2021 saw a strong rebound, with FDI reaching a record $83 billion, more than doubling the previous year’s inflow.

Title:

Content: FDI flows to North Africa down 5% in 2021
Foreign direct investment to North Africa fell 5 percent to $9.3 billion for the whole of 2021, according to a report on “Investing in the World ” released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on June 9, 2022.
These investments, towards Tunisia, improved slightly from $652 million in 2020 to $660 million in 2021.
The same investment to Morocco increased by 52 percent to 2.2 billion dollars in 2021, compared with a 12 percent drop to 1.5 billion dollars in Egypt.
Despite the decline in these investments in Egypt, it remains the second country to benefit from the inflow of foreign direct investment in Africa.
According to the same report, the flow of foreign direct investment in Africa reached a record level of $83 billion for the whole of 2021, more than double the investment achieved for the whole of 2020.
Despite this significant growth, the flow of investment to Africa in 2021 represented only 5.2 percent of the global total, compared to 4.1 percent in 2020.
Most African countries saw a slight increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2021.
These investments developed in South, East and West Africa, while they maintained their previous levels in Central Africa, while declining in North Africa.
Europeans remain the most important investors in Africa, led by investors from the United Kingdom ($65 billion) and France ($60 billion).
Increased investments in renewable energy
Despite the overall positive trend of foreign direct investment towards Africa, the announcement of new projects remained weak at $39 billion and shows only a weak recovery compared to $32 billion recorded in 2020 and less than $77 billion recorded in 2019.
In parallel, the number of international projects in the field of renewable energies in Africa increased to an estimated 71 projects, almost double the 36 projects completed in 2011.
Among these projects is a $20 billion project that aims to export wind energy to the UK from Morocco.
By laying 3,800 km of submarine cables.

In 2022, FDI declined to $45 billion but remained substantial, driven by factors such as increased cross-border mergers and acquisitions, especially in Egypt where FDI more than doubled to $11 billion.

What trends are emerging for African startups in 2022?

significant merger and acquisition activity

What was the total FDI inflow to Africa in 2022 and how did it compare to 2021?

$45 billion, which was down from $80 billion in 2021

Which African countries are driving the venture capital ecosystem?

African regional groups including COMESA, SADC, WEMU, and the East African Community saw FDI increases, reflecting growing investment integration and opportunities facilitated by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a unified market of 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.

The AfCFTA is expected to lower trade barriers, enhance intra-African investment, and strengthen conditions for foreign businesses entering African markets, while offering African companies easier access to multiple countries, stimulating regional value chains and economies of scale.

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Content: Global investors waiting to pour in money in Africa to firewall China

By IANS | Published: August 2, 2021 02:09 PM2021-08-02T14:09:05+5:302021-08-02T14:25:34+5:30

New Delhi, Aug 2: After a tepid inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) into Africa in 2020 amid the ...

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New Delhi, Aug 2: After a tepid inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) into Africa in 2020 amid the Covid-19, investors are once again warming up to the continent. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), FDI flows into Africa declined by 16 per cent in 2020 to $40 billion, from $47 billion in 2019.

China, the primary investor in the continent, has also slowed down its investments into the continent leaving an opportunity for other investors.

While the UNCTAD projected FDI inflow into Africa to grow this year, it said that the slow vaccine roll-out programme is a cause for concern. According to UNCTAD, FDI to the continent is projected to grow by only 5 per cent in 2021. But analysts said Africa as an investment destination has led to "an unprecedented curiosity" among other countries, which are now aggressively looking to mute China's dominance in the continent.

"Africa is critical in the new geopolitical and geo-economic contours. The continent, with its vast natural resources, offers a ready growth platform," an analyst told India Narrative.

According to a study published by Brookings Institution last week, Africa is home to 17 per cent of the world population. However, by 2050, it will have 26 per cent of the global population 2.53 billion people. "If Africa is not successfully integrated into the global economy, there could be a major threat to global prosperity and stability," the study said, adding that by 2050, the continent will be home to an estimated $16.12 trillion of combined consumer and business spending.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – the mega trade could give a push to intra-continental investment.

Touted as one of the biggest trade deals in the world, the AfCTA aims to create a single market comprising 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of about $3.4 trillion.

Meanwhile, the US may have woken up late in recognising the potential of Africa but is making all attempts to make up for the lost time.

The Group of Seven or G7 has already decided to support US President Joe Biden's proposal of carving out a mega infrastructure plan under the "Build Back Better World" (B3W) initiative, expected to bring in transparency and sustainability. Besides, the initiative will be carried out only in consultation with local communities.

The G7 in its meeting in June also announced that it will increase its support to the Indo Pacific and Africa. "We resolve to collaborate with partners around the world, including in the Indo-Pacific and Africa, to actively promote these shared values for the good of all," said the statement.

India too has pressed the pedal on investments in the region. Sources said that the still-born Asia Africa Growth Corridor—the mega infrastructure project that was launched in 2017 to connect Asia and Africa must be revived.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace noted that Chinese financiers committed $153 billion to African public sector borrowers between 2000 and 2019. "After rapid growth in the 2000s, annual lending commitments to Africa peaked in 2013, the year the BRI was launched. By 2019, though, new Chinese loan commitments amounted to only $7 billion to the continent, down 30 percent from $9.9 billion in 2018," it said.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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Geographically, FDI concentrates in East, West, Southern, and North Africa.

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Content: Economy and Markets
The top of the COB 26.
The world is facing a new test to face climate change « Graf »
Many international reports have identified the serious impacts of climate change on human lives.
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The world is looking forward to the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change on November 1 in Glasgow, United Kingdom, to discuss the serious effects of climate change on human lives and discuss international commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to reduce those changes.
The holding of the various sessions of this international event raises many questions about its importance and the extent of the serious commitment of the major industrial countries to its results, reduce emissions and implement green projects, especially as this affects their industrial plans and costs to implement these projects.
This comes as many international reports have identified the serious effects of climate change on human lives, the most recent of which is a report issued by the International Monetary Fund, in which the average temperature in all countries of the Middle East and Central Asia is expected to rise by 2050 even if a significant reduction in global emissions can be achieved, pointing out that the decline and increasing changes in rainfall movement will exacerbate the challenges resulting from water scarcity.
Dr. Mohamed Bagha, professor of finance and investment at Suez Canal University, said that international commitments may be announced in favor of addressing the problem, but they may not be committed by countries, as happened when US President Donald Trump canceled his country ’ s participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change, which affected the commitments taken by other countries and their desire to implement green projects.
US President Donald Trump announced in 2017 his country ’ s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, stressing that he rejects anything that could stand in the way of “reviving the US economy, ” noting that it is time to give the US“ priority over Paris and France. ”
But as soon as new President Joe Biden came to the White House after being sworn in, he issued a decree bringing the United States back to the Paris climate agreement earlier this year.
Sustainable financing
In his statements to Al-Mal, Bagha pointed out that the sustainable financing provided by international institutions for environmental projects is focused on the commitment of countries to implement three elements: governance, social responsibility and the environment.
So the issue here is the extent of the commitment of countries to these three elements, and whether companies listed on the stock exchanges of those countries provide a list of agreed items to preserve the environment and whether the lists of financial positions of companies include environmental and sustainability reports and how to dispose of their waste, stressing that some countries adhere to these dimensions while others do not.
He said that we should not rely on the major industrial countries because they are pragmatic countries in the first place and the industry sector occupies a very important position there, pointing out that for example, the conflict between the United States and China is basically a conflict of the telecommunications sector such as 5G networks and what is talked about that those networks enable the control of humans.
He stressed that one of the international standards that have become advocated by international banks when financing any project is the issue of the green economy, pointing out that the world began to feel the seriousness of the impact of climate change already, for example, summer became hot compared to previous times, and the globe witnessed changes in its topography and began to dry up certain rivers such as the Tigris and Euphrates. of crops and thawing ice and rain in summer.
Read also because of climate change.
Fossil fuel revenues decline will fuel tensions in Middle East
He cited, for example, the problem Egypt experienced last year: the impact on mango production.
He pointed out that the United Nations is organizing another summit to address the climate issue on the sidelines of its meetings, pointing out that Egypt is currently developing its infrastructure and this is part of the contributions to combat climate change.
He added that Egypt was one of the first countries to present a vision for preserving the environment and environmental sustainability due to the real threat of the problem to the world and human lives.
Climate change could force 216 million people in six regions to migrate within their own borders by 2050
The World Bank released a report in late September that concluded that climate change could force 216 million people in six regions of the world to move within their own borders by 2050, noting that hotspots of internal migration caused by climate change could emerge by 2030 and continue to spread and worsen by 2050.
Rapid action to take immediate and coordinated action to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and support inclusive and resilient green development could reduce the scale of climate change migration by up to 80%, the World Bank report said.
By 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa could see up to 86 million people forced into internal migration due to climate change, East Asia and the Pacific (49 million), South Asia (40 million), North Africa (19 million), Latin America (17 million) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (5 million).
The COVID-19 epidemic led to an economic contraction in the North African region last year except Egypt, the World Bank report said, noting that extreme poverty has declined in the region over the past two decades.
North Africa includes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia.
The five countries have made strides in recent decades to reduce poverty and income inequality, as well as in taking broader development measures such as educational attainment and child mortality, the bank said.
These gains have been achieved by expanding public spending, services and employment, and countries have also relied on subsidies, particularly in energy, to boost economic growth and expand access to resources.
Effects of Climate Change on North Africa
The results of the changes in the region show water availability as a key driver of internal climate migration that pushes people out of coastal and inland areas where water has become more scarce, slowing population growth in external climate migration hotspots along Tunisia ’ s northeast coast, Algeria ’ s northwest coast and western and southern Morocco.
In Egypt, he said, the eastern and western parts of the Nile Delta, including Alexandria, could become hot spots for external migration due to low water availability and rising sea level, and at the same time, many places with better water availability are expected to become hot spots for internal migration, including important urban centers such as Cairo, Algeria, Tunisia, Tripoli, the Casablanca – Rabat corridor and Tangier.
Read also iron and cement prices on Saturday 23-10-2021
The industrial, public and service sectors concentrated in urban centres support the livelihoods of many North Africans, and recent institutional and legal reforms in those countries aim to diversify economies.
As a result, FDI has increased, and inflows to Morocco, for example, have helped modernize the economy and improve performance in key industries, particularly in finance, renewable energy, infrastructure and automobiles.
Importance of the Energy Sector
The energy sector remains of paramount importance to North Africa, especially oil and gas, with Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt being oil importers, while Algeria and Libya are oil exporters.
There are transboundary aquifers shared by many neighboring countries and are already a global hotspot for sustainable use challenges of both groundwater and surface water; for example, an aquifer is shared between Libya, Egypt, Chad and Sudan, and a groundwater system in the northern Western Sahara is shared between Algeria, Libya and Tunisia.
The report noted that women ’ s labor force participation rates in the North African region are among the lowest in the world, ranging from 19% in Algeria to 37% in Libya as of 2019.
Environmental stress, including water scarcity, associated stresses on agriculture and water, and accelerated desertification and land degradation, may actually lead to increased internal mobility, a study based on household surveys said perceptions of worsening climate change are linked to a greater likelihood of temporary migration; in Algeria and Morocco, more than 70 percent of households surveyed saw rainfall as more volatile and higher temperatures, while in Egypt, where irrigation is more prevalent. The percentage was 40%.
Severe climate phenomenon
In addition, almost all households indicated that they were exposed to a severe climatic phenomenon, with losses of income, crops and livestock being listed as the main economic impacts.
However, focus groups highlighted that other factors play a bigger role in the decision to move – including a lack of jobs and services – and that migration is not necessarily the first strategy used to deal with adverse weather events.
Remittances from internal and international migrants are an important source of education funding for many families, and many people migrate to make money to pay for education, the report said, adding that despite the coronavirus epidemic, remittance flows to the region grew modestly in 2020, but flows to Egypt and Morocco were strong.
Did the rich countries honor the Copenhagen pledges of $100 billion?
The question is whether rich countries committed to what they announced in 2009, at the Copenhagen climate conference, to raise the value of assistance to countries of the South in the fight against climate change to $100 billion a year by 2020, to help take action to adapt and reduce emissions.
READ ALSO: UAE ’ s agricultural exports hit $131 million last season
The importance of establishing a strong carbon pricing system
In this context, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva stressed that the global economy needs market signals that work in favor of the new climate economy, not against it, pointing out that despite the political difficulties, there is a need to liberate from all forms of support for fossil fuel products. The equivalent of more than $5 trillion a year, although the cost is much higher for our future.
A strong carbon pricing system will help redirect private sector investment and innovation towards clean technology and promote energy efficiency.
Otherwise, we simply won ’ t be able to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the IMF ’ s director stressed that this price signal must gain more traction toward the path — to reach an average working carbon price of $75 per ton by 2030. It is much higher than the current price of $3 per ton.
An agreement among major emitters on a minimum price for carbon would be a good start.
She stressed that we need to intensify green investments.
A research study by IMF experts predicts that green supply chain policies could increase global GDP by about 2% this decade and create millions of new jobs.
We must work to achieve an equitable transition to a low-carbon economy within and between countries; for example, revenues generated from carbon pricing can be used in cash transfers, social safety nets, retraining, etc. Compensation for workers and businesses in high-carbon sectors.
Across countries, a just transition will require financial support and green technology transfers.
Although the world's poorest countries were the least contributors to climate change, they were the most vulnerable to its consequences and least able to afford adaptation. Since many of the least costly mitigation opportunities existed in emerging market and developing economies, it was important for developed countries to meet their commitments. Providing $100 billion a year to finance climate activities in developing countries would be in the interest of the whole world.
We have no time to waste, and we must be ready to act decisively together.
Three Middle East countries successfully develop national climate change strategies
In a recent report, the IMF said that while several countries in the Middle East and Central Asia have successfully developed national climate change strategies, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, many countries in the region are still in the early stages of developing national climate change adaptation plans.
According to the IMF ’ s AFAC regional report for the Middle East and Central Asia, it is necessary to accelerate these efforts, adding that regional cooperation between countries will support national efforts to adapt to climate change, reduce emissions, manage transitional risks, create green investment opportunities and create jobs.
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Although North Africa saw a 5% decline in 2021, with investment rising in Morocco but falling in Egypt that year, other subregions recorded significant growth.

In terms of industrial sectors, energy—especially oil, gas, and renewables—telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture, fintech, pharmaceuticals, and health technology have attracted the most investment.

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Trade Association Africa Business Opportunity Day and Taiwan-Africa CEO Forum Promotes Over US $30 Million in Business Opportunities
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Foreign Trade Association held the 2023 Africa Business Opportunity Day and the Taiwan-Africa CEO Forum on the 6th and 7th, inviting 25 buyers from 10 countries including Swaziland, South Africa, Nigeria, Somaliland, Egypt, Algeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique and Ivory Coast to hold 216 talks with 96 companies, resulting in 31.48 million US dollars of business opportunities.
Major buyers include Egypt ’ s El Sewedy Group, which operates energy and wire manufacturing with annual turnover of more than US $1 billion, Algeria ’ s Conserverie Du Maghreb, which operates food processing with annual turnover of more than US $100 million, etc. Products, food processing machinery, medical materials and green energy.
Among them, Formosa Plastics Group and SARL SMTP (AGGOUN GROUP) from Algiers rope manufacturer negotiate the purchase of PP plastic raw materials; Mingji Sanfeng medical materials and Mozambique buyers successfully contact, in the future, if the "disposable dialysis consumables" successfully enter the Mozambican market, there is a chance to expand sales to other neighboring countries in Africa.
As for the theme of the "Taiwan-Africa CEO Forum" focusing on the business opportunities, challenges and market trends in Africa under the long chain - short chain - multi-chain of global supply chains, the site attracted nearly 200 companies to participate.
Guo Wenliao, president of the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria, said that he is optimistic about the potential of Africa and Nigeria as a whole, and it is worth our business to actively explore deep roots.
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Renewable energy projects nearly doubled relative to 2011 levels, driven by Africa’s pressing energy needs and climate commitments.

The technology sector, particularly fintech and digital infrastructure, experienced a 66% growth in private equity and venture capital activity to $7.7 billion in 2022, reflecting expanding digitization and young demographics.

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Content: In 2023, standards became higher than ever for global tech. Customers want to be able to buy something in two clicks but still need in-person customer service. Workers want to work digitally, ideally from a beach somewhere, while maintaining a connection with their colleagues. And the truth is these standards are unlikely to get lower soon.

In Africa, the tech scene hasn’t been any less dramatic. It was, in many ways, a market correction. Several startups shut down, while many others survived by bone-deep cost-cutting or mergers and acquisitions. Founders and investors have gone from chasing Silicon Valley-esque growth to seeking a balance with the African market. Between 2020 and 2023, African tech went from the “peak of inflated expectations” point to the “plateau of productivity” side of Gartner’s hype cycle.

Now, what’s next? That’s what everyone wants to know as we enter a new year. Predicting the future is hard and risky. But it’s even harder in the digital tech industry because, as we’ve seen in the past three years, things change fast and dramatically. However, 2023 gave several pointers to trends we should all pay attention to in the new year.

Crypto/Web3

2022 was a rough year for the crypto market. Everything went wrong, from Terra’s downfall to FTX’s scandal. But 2023 was a lot better as Bitcoin ended the year over 150% higher than where it started. The Solana blockchain also made a dramatic comeback, with its token rising over 1000%.

Why does this matter? Because price is still the main driver of the crypto ecosystem. Funding pours into startups when prices are high and dry up when prices are low. It also means the hype bubble will likely return because markets become irrational in the face of high prices.

Africa is the fastest-growing cryptocurrency market among developing economies, primarily because people seek to hedge against inflation. Young people are drawn to low-barrier opportunities to generate wealth, which is crypto’s biggest use case today.

Africa’s regulatory environment is also slowly buying into crypto. In December, Nigeria’s central bank lifted a ban on cryptocurrency transactions, saying global trends had shown a need to regulate such activities.

Artificial intelligence

AI has become the rave of the moment, thanks to OpenAI’s breakthrough with ChatGPT. The chances that an image or text you see on social media are products of generative AI are higher than ever. Every big tech player is in the race for AI dominance. Google launched Gemini in December, a few weeks after Elon Musk’s xAI launched Grok, another ChatGPT competitor.

One in every four dollars that went into the pocket of an American startup was related to AI, per Crunchbase data. According to McKinsey data, AI startups garnered over five times as much funding in the first half of 2023 as they did over the same period in 2022. Global demand for talent in this section also spiked in 2023. LinkedIn job postings that mention AI or generative AI have more than doubled since 2021.

In Africa, we are seeing more startups either focus on AI or apply it to their processes. For instance, OnePipe, a Nigerian fintech, uses artificial intelligence for fraud detection and prevention and biometric verification for customer KYC implementation. It also uses natural language processing for conversational transactions. Nokwary, a Ghanaian startup, uses speech recognition and conversational user interfaces to enable visually impaired people and those who can’t read and write to interact with banking apps and systems through spoken commands.

The biggest challenge to an AI boom in Africa is data. However, this poses a huge opportunity for research and data collection companies in the continent.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Many startups shut down between 2022 and 2023, either because they couldn’t raise more cash or because tough economic times got the better of them. But that wasn’t the only trend that emerged. Many others survive by getting acquired. Nearly 70 acquisitions have happened between 2022 and 2023, according to data from The Big Deal and BD Funding Tracker. Some notable deals were Risevest and Chaka, BioNTech and InstaDeep, Bitmama and PayDay, and FairMoney and PayForce.

Mergers and Acquisitions will likely remain a trend for as long as valuations are low. Over the last two years, startups have been more cautious about bloating their valuations, and investors have kept the same sentiment. It’s partially why we haven’t recorded new unicorns in a minute. MNT-Halan was the only new entrant in the last two years.

This also creates an opportunity for African startup marketplaces, which will replicate Acquire.com to make acquisition easy for startups with solid products but low clout.

International work for Africans

Many African countries saw their currencies devalued in 2023. Inflation rates have also spiked in many economies. This creates a stronger appeal for them to earn foreign currencies and an [almost worrisome] opening for Westerners to find cheap labour in Africa. This is crucial because wage rates are rising in China and India, making it increasingly expensive for companies to outsource services there.

Studies by Bloomberg show that China’s upper-middle class now dominates, with over 200 million urban households having disposable incomes of $16k — $34k. Meanwhile, many Sub-Saharan economies have seen their middle-class shrink in recent years.

Also, there aren’t enough opportunities for young people to work remotely in Africa. Ten to twelve million young Africans enter the labour market each year, and an estimated one-third of the 600 million young people entering the global market by 2030 will be young Africans.

This trend will create opportunities for new approaches to apprenticeship or employment matching. It also means startups focused on building tech talent will likely see growth in 2024.

New regional preferences

In 2024, investors could reevaluate their regional strategies in response to changing macroeconomic and political conditions. Per the EIU, fifteen African countries have elections next year, and investors will observe their outcomes keenly. Elections are fraught with risk, especially in regions where armed conflict is rampant. The EIU notes that elections in Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, and South Africa will add to political risk, which could have long-term implications on where investors put their money.

An AVCA survey revealed that LPs favoured investing in West Africa while GPs leaned towards East Africa. The data aligns with this: between 2019 and 2023, per The Big Deal, there were over 700 recorded deals worth $1m or more. West Africa led the pack with 246, East Africa with 175, Northern Africa with 160, Southern Africa with 147, and Central Africa with 14. Depending on the degree of confidence, the numbers could realign with investors becoming more risk-averse. It’s all “wait and see” going into 2024.

Elsewhere on Ventures

What trends are emerging for African startups in 2022?

Which sectors are Chinese investments in Africa focusing on?