We support the EU global commitment to end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition through a dedicated, reinforced science-policy interface and a fostered inter-policy dialogue.
Global Gateway is the European Union’s Strategy to narrow the global investment gap worldwide. Launched in 2021, it seeks to create transformational impact in the digital, climate and energy, education and research, health, and transport sectors across the world. The initiative aimed to mobilise up to € 300 billion in investments by 2027. Already by the end of 2024 it has reached the financial goal and mobilised over 306 billion €. Global Gateway works in a Team Europe approach, coordinating the development efforts of the EU Member States in their respective partner countries.
Global Gateway focuses on accelerating sustainable development through smart investments that consider the needs of partner countries, ensure lasting benefits for local communities, and respect the highest social and environmental standards, in line with the EU’s interests and values: rule of law, human rights and international norms and standards.
To build resilience and to maximise impact, the EU uses a 360° approach to describe an integrated intervention across the entire system, rather than isolated projects, which includes infrastructure projects, policy reforms and private sector development.
“The Global Gateway adopts a 360 degree approach that links the physical, digital and health dimensions of connectivity with climate resilient infrastructure, skills development and robust governance. By integrating these six pillars, the EU can deliver sustainable, inclusive and climate compatible connectivity that benefits both partner countries and Europe (Commission Communication 2021)”
The 360° approach offers comprehensive partnerships tailored to partners’ needs – not just hard infrastructure, but also soft infrastructure for strengthening the enabling environment and regulatory frameworks or enhancing skills and education or fostering the access to sustainable financing. Global Gateway projects promote a conducive regulatory and business environment in partner countries, levelling the playing field for business. Private sector actors are therefore actively encouraged to form strategic multistakeholder partnerships and consortia.
"This unique 360-degree approach makes the Global Gateway offer stand out; it is key to ensure that investments last and deliver impact (EC 2024)".
Agri-food systems transformation is an objective of many Global Gateway initiatives which are addressed for example under the Climate & Energy pillar which includes agriculture, water, and critical raw material sectors.
The Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment Package (€150 billion in investments), aims to support Africa for a strong, inclusive, green and digital recovery and transformation, including by “Accelerating the green transition”. The Global Gateway Investment Package also seeks to enhance agri-food systems and fish-processing, making them more sustainable by setting up a transparent policy environment for private investments and facilitating innovation (EU–Africa Global Gateway Investment Package - Sustainable agri-food systems).
For example, the Team Europe Sustainable Agri-Value Chain Initiative aims to boost public and private investments in African agri-value chains. This intends to foster sustainable agri-food systems by creating a conducive and transparent policy environment for sustainable private investments, enhancing investments in agri-food and fish-processing, facilitating innovation and boosting improved nutrition. It includes support to smallholder farming, research and innovation, tailored technical assistance, policy support and the use of blending instruments to facilitate and de-risk investments in value chains, including agro-processing.
This initiative is expected to trigger catalytic investment specific to each value chain, such as the sustainable cocoa initiative, and new initiatives on cashew nuts and plant-based proteins. It contributes to alternative livelihoods creation and to sustainable agriculture, including in those countries that are part of the Great Green Wall initiative.
The Team Europe Initiative on Resilient Food Systems supports African food systems in becoming more resistant to unfavourable trends, shocks and crises, for instance when facing climate change, pests, diseases and price shocks.
The Initiative seeks to (Tagliapietra 2024):
The private sector is a key stakeholder in implementing Global Gateway for several reasons. First, businesses bring marketdriven expertise and innovative solutions that can make food systems more efficient, green and resilient. The Global Gateway overview stresses that one of its six core principles is "catalysing the private sector". Second, the private sector creates jobs, skills and supply chain development in partner countries. The Business Opportunities page notes that private companies are expected to bring “investments, knowledge and skills development” to the partners, thereby fostering local entrepreneurship and humancapital upgrades. Finally, the private sector is meant to mobilise up finances, thereby bridging the investment gap (It envisages the levering of private capital in the factor 5 to public funds) and ensuring that projects meet EU standards on sustainability, digitalisation and climate resilience. Involving EU companies shall help to align projects with EU values and standards, because European firms operate under strict environmental, labour and governance rules.
A new avenue for businesses to engage in the Global Gateway is through Global Gateway Investment Hub. This was launched earlier in October 2025 in order to overcome fragmentation and complexity in EU financing. It serves as a central platform to connect the private sector with relevant EU institutions, funding instruments, and blended finance solutions.
The Global Gateway seeks to support African countries in providing modern, equitably available and high-quality education, promoting youth mobility, making the labour market more accessible to young African professionals and encouraging innovative solutions to improve skills. By 2030, the aim is that Africa's social and economic transformation will be led by young skilled leaders. The EU invests in education with a life-long learning approach, covering basic and higher education, technical and vocational education and training, research, and mobility.
Research and innovation are key drivers of the transition to sustainable agri-food systems. Through the EU-AU partnership, R&I collaboration in sustainable agriculture, food security, and nutrition is being actively advanced. At the heart of resilient food systems lies human capacity development — drawing on scientific knowledge alongside practical and indigenous expertise to navigate the pressures of climate change, demographic shifts, and geopolitical dynamics. Across the board, production systems and value chains must adapt. Scientific evidence and high-quality data are important for investments of private actors and farmers and lay the ground for policy making.
The European Union supports this with the Desira+ initiative which strives to bring agro-ecological innovation to scale. The objectives are to increase
Flagship Projects under Global Gateway comprise transportation infrastructure projects, such as Lobito corridor that foster trade of agricultural products, projects that strengthen specific value chains (e.g. coffee, horticulture) or programmes that build up production site, such as the rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure.
FAO projects: The FAO supports a range of Global Gateway agri-food initiatives, including: strengthening mission-oriented agri-food innovation systems for sustainability transition through agroecology, supporting climate-resilient rural development through green value chains and improved land management, and supporting major cocoa-producing countries in improving the long-term economic, social and environmental sustainability of cocoa value chains.
Some examples in the area of agriculture, sustainable food systems and food security
Beyond projects, the Global Gateway focuses on investment mobilisation. That means, partnering with financial institutions to mobilise private finances and support agri-food business. The EDFI Transforming Global Value Chains is a programme designed to support European Development Finance Institutions (EDFIs) and their private and public co-investors to scale up debt investments into local, regional and value chain companies and services in developing countries, including agri-business value chains (food, beverage and formulated complementary food). The Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFi) is a € 120 million impact investment facility funded by the European Union with a mandate to support investments with a value chain approach focusing on smallholder’s inclusiveness and/or agri-business medium, small and micro enterprises.
Explore relevant publications on this topic from the database of the KC-FNS.
13 May 2026 | 21 May 2026
