A $9 million equity investment has been approved by the African Development Bank for the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN). The investment is set to provide expansion capital to agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Fund is jointly sponsored by the German KfW Development Bank and the Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).
The project is expected to deliver strong development outcomes from (i) household benefits and employment through the creation of a large number of jobs and the provision of certain agricultural products; (ii) positive gender and social effects through the implementation of out-grower schemes and supporting rural development; and (iii) private sector development through alleviation of financial constraints faced by agribusinesses and enhancing agricultural value chains.
The Fund’s primary focus will be on SMEs across the agricultural value chain with crop value chain and geographic diversification. It aims at fixing broken value chains to increase efficiencies, reduce post-harvest loss, and increase smallholder farmer incomes and SME agribusiness profitability.
Read more at www.biznisafrica.co.za.
