Agri-food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism - Technical Assistance

This project seeks to support the agricultural small- and medium-sized enterprises (Agri-SME) Catalytic Financing Mechanism (ACFM) pipeline to address the increased technical complexity eligibility requirements and reporting obligations related to Agri-SME operations. Project activities include: (1) building the internal capacity and required systems of ACFM investees through training business development services and integration of new technologies for efficiently identifying investing and tracking eligible Agri-SMEs; (2) improving at scale the financial viability creditworthiness and governance standards required by lenders of gender-focused and climate-resilient Agri-SMEs; (3) supporting effective project preparation and design of high-quality projects for ACFM funding; and (4) supporting adaptive learning knowledge generation and dissemination activities to promote financial inclusion of underserved Agri-SMEs.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) increased financial access for underserved gender-oriented and climate-resilient Agri-SMEs in Africa; (2) increased productivity and growth of gender-oriented and climate-resilient Agri-SMEs in Africa; and (3) increased gender equality along Agri-food value chains.