Accelerating access to agricultural finance in Africa

An in-person member convening organized by the Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network (SAFIN) and hosted on the side-lines of the Africa Food System (AFS) Forum to be held on 2-6 September 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Objectives

• To forge new and strengthen existing relationships among SAFIN members active in East and West Africa.
• To introduce the Regional Working Group Leads and collectively discuss and define the future thematic focus and agenda of activities to be undertaken in each region.
• To build on SAFIN knowledge through technical discussions and the identification of action-oriented collaborative initiatives to be taken forward at the regional level.

Proposed Programme

Day 1: 03 September 2024 

Welcome Session

Time: 1:30pm – 1:45pm (Central African Time)

Lead: Micheal von During, Technical Specialist, SAFIN

A representative of the SAFIN Secretariat will welcome participants and review the agenda and objectives for the day.

Working Session: Lessons Learned from Climate Finance Fund Design

Time: 1:45pm – 3:15pm (Central African Time)

Lead: Acumen and IFAD

Scaling access to climate finance for agri-SMEs will require the design, launch and evaluation of dedicated funding facilities. Building on the findings of a recent collection of case studies by SAFIN members, this interactive session will aim to validate lessons learned. With a focus on two specific issues, participants will discuss how they relate to climate funding in East and West Africa, and identify concrete initiatives that could be led by SAFIN members to address them.

Networking Break

Time: 3:15pm – 3:45pm (Central African Time)

Working Session: Investing in Digital Solutions for Agriculture to Drive Scale

Time: 3:45pm – 5:15pm (Central African Time)

Lead: Brenda Gunde, Lead Global Technical specialist ICT4D, IFAD

Africa will need to increase its investments in digitalisation for agriculture to accelerate the advancements it needs for food systems transformation. Leveraging the work that SAFIN and IFAD co-led in this area, this session will review successful as investment and technical assistance models that can drive large-scale agricultural transformation through increased digitalisation. The objective will be to explore options for the collaborative design of an investment platform dedicated to impactful and scalable agritech and fintech solutions.

Wrap Up

Time: 5:15pm – 5:30pm (Central African Time)

Lead: SAFIN Member

A SAFIN Member will close the discussions with a summary of key takeaways from Day 1 and implications for the Network.

Day 2: 04 September 2024 

Welcome Breakfast

Time: 9:00am – 10:00am (Central African Time)

Lead:

•  Michael von During, Technical Specialist, SAFIN
• “Willis” Ogutu Odhiambo, RWG Lead East Africa (AGRA)
• Zara Dogo, RWG Lead West Africa (AFEX)

The meeting will be opened by a representative of SAFIN’s Secretariat, who will introduce the recently appointed Regional Working Group (RWG) Leads for East and West Africa. Together, they will set the stage for a day of joint reflection and lead participants in ice-breaker activities

Member Pitches

Time: 10:00am – 10:30am (Central African Time)

Working Session: Defining RWG Focus & Activities

Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm (Central African Time)

Lead: Conrado Madrid, Systems Mapping Expert, SC Group

Africa The SAFIN Secretariat recently conducted a mapping analysis of the financing ecosystem for agri-SMEs and Farmers’ Organizations. During this session the main findings from this exercise will be shared before participants engage in a discussion on their relevance to the African context. The objective will be to identify key priorities to be addressed in each region, and corresponding activities that can be led collaboratively by SAFIN members.

Lunch

Time: 12:30pm