Partners in the Grow Africa, a program by the World Economic Forum, NEPAD and the African Union, said it doubled its agricultural investment commitments from companies to $7.2 billion by the end of 2013, Its annual report showed.

Grow Africa was established to help accelerate the transformation of agriculture on the continent and ensure that agribusiness contributes to both economic growth and food security. It has already invested $970 million, which has directly created employment for over 33,000 people and helped 2.6 million African farmers access farm inputs.

Assistance it provides to smallholders includes provision of new services, sourcing, contracts or training, BusinessDay reported.

Grow Africa’s 2013 annual report showed that most of the companies that had invested in the intiative were mostly from within Africa, while nearly half of the funds raised were directed to Nigeria, the continent recent largest economy.

The increase in investment confirmations outlined in the report is consistent with a broader growth trend in African agriculture which, according to the World Bank, will triple in size by 2030 to become a $1 trillion industry.

The reported said that lack of access to affordable and relevant financial products was a key challenge facing agribusiness entrepreneur across the continent. It also said that lack of alignment between public sector institutions and the private sector was slowing down investments and project execution in the sector.

“Governments must accelerate action to improve the enabling environment in response to market priorities and the private sector must innovate and be willing to take on and share risk,” said Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, CEO of the NEPAD planning and co-ordinating agency, one of the three Grow Africa co-founders.

“Grow Africa’s focus for 2014 will remain on creating better linkages between stakeholders and projects to accelerate the speed of return on investment,” said Grow Africa CEO Arne Cartridge. “We will also put specific emphasis on projects that engage African youth at a time when so many are moving to cities. Nearly 90 percent of rural youth who work in agriculture contribute up to one third of Africa’s GDP and we cannot afford to lose this growth driver.”