Agriculture & Nutrition
Smallholder farmers in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa collectively supply most of the population’s food in these regions. In many countries, agriculture is the largest contributor to GDP and employment. Amid increasing climate stress, agriculture needs new tools that enable farmers to improve their farm’s production and resilience.
Our agricultural investments support innovations that boost smallholder farm productivity and income, while providing local consumers access to nutritious, affordable food. These include global R&D in climate-resilient crop science and livestock health, alongside agritech and agri-business model innovations, with a specific focus on empowering women farmers.
Investments
Investors
Rutendo Chigora
Principal
Seattle
Rutendo joined the Gates Foundation in 2026 and serves as Investment Officer for the Strategic Market Tools initiative within the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF). She partners with program strategy teams to structure, negotiate, and execute complex transactions with private sector entities, multilaterals, and governments, using guarantees and other structured/innovative finance tools to lower the cost…
Elisabeth Di Domenico
Associate
Seattle
Elisabeth joined the Gates Foundation in March 2026 and serves as an Associate of the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), where she works as a generalist across the Fund’s investment areas. Prior to joining the Foundation, Elisabeth was an Investment Banking Analyst at Morgan Stanley within the Industrials Group in New York City, where she executed…
Antonio Garcia Maldonado
Principal
London
Antonio Garcia Maldonado is a Partner at SIF. He works on international investments with a focus on biotech in Europe and Israel, and tech-enabled service/product delivery in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining the foundation, Antonio worked in the investment banking division at JPMorgan. There, he worked on structuring and executing M&A, equity…
Ryan Kreitzer
Partner
Seattle
Ryan Kreitzer joined the Strategic Investment Fund in 2014. Based in Seattle, Ryan invests across fintech, healthtech, agritech & climate, focusing on innovative companies that develop new solutions to long-standing challenges that impact patients, farmers and consumers globally. He also leads SIF’s investing practice in Sub-Saharan Africa, where he invests in businesses that deliver innovations…
David Rossow
Founding Partner
London
David Rossow joined the foundation in 2010 as part of a $400 million pilot to establish the Strategic Investment Fund. He currently heads the fund’s international work with a focus on biotech in Europe, and tech-enabled service & product delivery in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining the foundation in 2010, David worked…