Moo-ving food into Asia
Fostering demand for gender-lens investing in Southeast Asia
Some of Australian agriculture’s biggest research and development corporations and industry organisations have joined forces to help secure enhanced business opportunities and profile for Australian food and beverages exporters across Asia.
Supported by Agriculture Trade and Market Access Cooperation (ATMAC) and working collectively under the Nation Brand’s “Taste the Wonders of Australia” branding developed by Austrade, the Australian Food and Wine Collaboration Group has so far met with more than 480 customers, trade contacts and government officials across Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam. These connections are building on existing trade programs run by individual commodity organisations and helping to deepen their relationships in a way that has not been possible before. The collaboration group is strengthening connections with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) Agricultural Counsellors overseas and key contacts involved with market access because many rural research and development corporations (RDCs) do not have in-market resources to tap into. Roundtable discussions with DAFF, DFAT and Austrade have led to a sharing of perspectives, insights
The Australian Food and Wine Collaborative Group – Dairy Australia, Meat & Livestock Australia, Wine Australia, Hort Innovation and Seafood Industry Australia – is harnessing the collective strength of Australia’s finest fresh food and wine in a Team Australia approach to building export markets for Australian producers. In its first two-year program, the group targeted four key Asian markets – Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia - with a rolling program of activities to increase and diversify export market opportunities for Australian producers. Indonesia – close by and with a burgeoning consumer population – is the group’s next focus market.
and issues. These have been invaluable to deepen the collective understanding and create a broader perspective for the group. Charles McElhone, Dairy Australia General Manager, said that, while the five organisations involved in the Australia Food and Wine Collaboration Group represent individual industries that are significant exporters in their own right, the initiative provides an added opportunity to work collectively as one and develop export opportunities. To learn more about the Australian Food and Wine Collaboration Group, see horticulture.com.au/growers/ help-your-business-grow/research- reports-publications-fact-sheets- and-more/ha20005/ The collaborative group’s most recent initiative was ‘Taste the Wonders of Australia’ in Vietnam. A gala dinner attracted more than 200 of Vietnam’s food industry leaders, importers, distributors and government representatives, dining on Australia’s finest fresh food and premium wines. Laura Davies, Trade Export Manager Seafood Industry Australia, said it was a strategic, collective approach to showcase to Asian consumers what Australia has to offer in terms of premium produce. “We want them to buy the whole plate from Australia.”
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Women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are between 31 and 38 per cent of all SMEs in emerging markets. They are a major engine for employment and potential growth. However, many women-led businesses struggle to access the finance they need to grow their businesses. Consistent with Australia’s commitment to advancing gender equality, including in Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 , DFAT has been working to increase the flow of capital to women-owned and women-led businesses through the Investing in Women initiative. Since 2016, Investing in Women has played a catalytic role in promoting and expanding gender lens investing (GLI) in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. GLI is a strategy where investors incorporate gender analysis throughout the investment process to make decisions that lead to better gender equality and economic outcomes. Building on success to-date, Investing in Women’s efforts to broaden demand by capital providers for GLI products and funds will be enhanced by two recently signed partnerships with industry players Global Private Capital Association (GPCA) and Propelevate. The independent membership organisation GPCA, with headquarters in New York and Singapore, represents private capital investors collectively managing over USD 2 trillion in assets globally. Through its work with Investing in Women, GPCA aims to move investors toward GLI adoption in Southeast Asia by providing strong examples of successful women-led
investments, driving conversations on integrating gender into investment decisions, and educating investors on how to diversify their portfolios by adopting a gender lens. Propelevate, a women-owned consulting firm based in San Francisco, aims to move mainstream and impact investors towards adoption of GLI. Drawing on its experience developing a Gender Equality Scorecard to assess evidence of businesses’ actions to support gender equity, Propelevate will deliver a GLI Learning Strategy to target capital providers’ motivations and investment strategies. To further complement the work of these partners, Investing in Women will explore opportunities to support ecosystem actors who are mainstreaming GLI and shifting capital to women entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia, with funding through DFAT to mid-2027. For more information on GLI, see: investinginwomen. asia/gender-lens-investing
All four key Asian markets increased their imports of
Australian agriculture products last year by more than $1 billion each and are expected to continue to grow.
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business envoy
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
business envoy
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