Background

TIFS was established in January 2020, when members of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food (a collective of 26 foundations and funders from around the world) recognized that there needed to be a bridge between the worlds of finance and philanthropy.

In response to the need to connect the goals of enterprise success of financial investors with the system change goals of philanthropy, TIFS initially launched a design phase that focused on researching, prototyping, and developing mechanisms and strategies for investing in transformational businesses. Since then, we have built an impressive set of assets that provide a solid understanding of what is needed for food systems investing, including numerous thought publications, investment screening methodologies, and the cultivation of a diverse community of thought leaders and action-minded financial practitioners.

Strategy

Since August 2023, TIFS has been gathering support and building up the capacity for our unique systemic approach. TIFS is developing parallel approaches to build a food system investing field: one from the ground up that helps improve the resiliency and livelihood of food producers, stewards of nature, and their communities, and one from the top down that addresses the needs of institutional investors to deploy financial capital to regenerative and agroecological enterprises.

In 2024 TIFS identified two strategic priorities to increase investment in agroecological and regenerative food systems. Leveraging our networks, thought leadership, and methodologies, we are building investing ecosystems in two regions: East Africa and North America, and co-creating financial structures and innovations that increase capital flows to regenerative and agroecological innovators.