Agrifinance Business Meeting

As part of the activities of the Agriculture Finance Stakeholder Working Group (AFSWG) and in the framework of the AFRACA 5th Agribanks Forum held on the 24th to 25th July, 2012 in Kigali, Rwanda, MFW4A facilitated a Business Meeting (parallel session) between Agribanks, Foundations and Development Partners investing in agriculture on the continent. The main objective was to expose agribanks to potential sources of financing from within and outside the continent that they could mobilize for on-lending to small-scale commercial agricultural producers. The following institutions AfDB, AfDB, IFC, USAID and Rockerfeller Foundation) showed case their activities during the Business Meeting. The theme of the Forum was: “Enhancing the Agricultural Value Chain Financing through Innovation towards Food Security in Africa”. It was acknowledged that the financial sector, Agribanks in particular have a critical role to play in the financing of agricultural value chains in Africa, but banks often lack adequate technical and financial resources to meet the current demand.