About the Webinar

Agriculture transformation that involves the production of high-value food products and post-harvest processing offers significant business opportunities for agribusiness SMEs. Long-term (LT) finance is critical for investments in building the needed infrastructure and agribusiness capacity, improved technologies, and equipment to make agriculture more productive, efficient, profitable, and resilient.

The Long-term investment capital for agri-SMEs: sources, challenges, and prospects webinar will discuss the key findings from a recent review of the major providers and types of LT financing, and reflections on key challenges, prospects, and areas for future research and learning – including SAFIN’s potential contribution to this agenda.

Speakers

Toshiaki Ono, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank

Toshiaki is a senior financial sector specialist at the World Bank where he supports various lending projects and analytical work to promote access to finance in the agriculture sector mainly in Africa and Asia & Pacific. Prior to joining the World Bank, Toshiaki held several positions at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), where he worked on agriculture finance and agribusiness development projects in South Asia and Africa. He also has practical experience in debt financing and investment banking through his earlier work at the Development Bank of Japan and Nomura. Mr. Ono holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York.

Calvin Miller, Agricultural Finance and Agribusiness Development Consultant, World Bank

Calvin is an Agricultural Economist with long experience in agricultural and rural finance and investment as well as rural economic development. He retired from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) where he was Senior Officer and Leader of the Agribusiness and Finance Group. Calvin is currently a part time international consultant and a small farmer in Virginia. Consulting clients have included IFAD, World Bank, IFC, MEDA, FAO, AFRACA and APRACA. Prior to his term at FAO has was Director of Economic Development in CARE leading the technical team in small enterprise, finance and agriculture.  He was also Country Manager for MEDA in Bolivia for 10 years. Calvin was also founder and an active participant in MicroVest, a $400 million dollar, global, socially responsive, family of microfinance investment funds financed by private investors, and he chaired the Board of the FairTrade Access Investment Fund for five years.

Join the Webinar
https://ifad.zoom.us/j/95523254905?pwd=VzJRRXcvSUZtQTBEZnVIbUt0cTRjZz09

Recordings
Webinar recording