In the past, multinational companies were kept at a distance from public policy. Now, they are often seen by African leaders and donors as key partners when it comes to designing and implementing such policies. What brought about that paradigm shift? How much influence does the “private sector” now have in guiding policies to combat food insecurity? What issues do these new alliances raise? Those are the main points addressed in this jointly written note, which is the result of much collective thinking and marks a milestone in Inter-réseaux’s work on this topic.