In the world of agribusiness, cold chain storage is emerging as a critical investment frontier in Africa, where post-harvest losses and supply chain fragmentation challenge food security. Stears' latest report on cold storage in Africa accentuates a new wave of private investment reshaping regional markets, particularly in East Africa, while West Africa lagged, plagued by structural challenges. Michael Famaroti, Head of Intelligence and Co-founder at Stears, shared insights on CNBC, underscoring the potential of cold chain for 'impact alpha'. This term refers to investment opportunities that align commercial profitability with overarching goals like climate sustainability and heightened food security. The dual appeal of such investments is driving a surge in capital inflows. Famaroti noted that Eastern Africa is currently a magnet for cold chain investments, tallying twice the number of transactions compared to Southern Africa. Meanwhile, West Africa, notably Nigeria, remains hamstrung by underinvestment, heavily relying on grants, with fledgling adoption of innovative financing models. "One key reason for underinvestment in West Africa," explained Famaroti, "is the region's limited engagement in global trade compared to the likes of South Africa and Kenya, whose industries necessitate robust cold chain systems." Nigeria's economy, heavily oil reliant, lacks a sizeable export-driven sector that would typically demand cold storage. Another impediment is the fragmented nature of West African agriculture, described by Famaroti as a landscape where smallholder farms are the norm. This fragmentation makes scaling operations financially prohibitive, necessitating inventive leasing models over traditional ownership avenues. Famaroti detailed that cultural and financial barriers continue to hinder investment proliferation across West Africa. However, innovative 'cooling as a service' models that circumvent high upfront costs through leasing and pay-as-you-go structures are slowly gaining traction, helping cold chain solutions take root. In Southern and Eastern Africa, the focus is shifting toward platform strategies where investors develop or acquire 'anchor' assets and rapidly expand through the acquisition of other cold storage infrastructures across regions. According to Famaroti, these strategies emphasize achieving business scale—a necessary move in an inherently capital-intensive sector—to derive profitability and spread operational costs. "While network expansion is underway in East and Southern Africa," said Famaroti, "West Africa, particularly Nigeria, still awaits its cold chain evolution. The focus is currently on building modular systems that serve the inland storage and distribution needs while servicing import-export requirements via larger platforms." Market dynamics suggest that West African players may eventually become acquisition targets for these expanding platforms. This could forge an integrated regional network capable of overcoming current sectorial fragmentation and cost barriers. As Africa stands at the cusp of a paradigm shift in cold chain logistics, private investment will be pivotal in the regional platforms swelling to link untapped markets and reduce food losses. If trends continue, the sector could offer transformative commercial returns underscored by substantial improvements in food resilience across the continent.