16th Malabo Montpellier Forum Presentation

(i) Mr. Ishmael Sunga – CEO, South African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU), and Member, Malabo Montpellier Panel.

(ii) Dr. Aisha Musaazi Sebunya Nakitto – Head, Policy Innovation Unit and Malabo Montpellier Panel Program Lead at AKADEMIYA2063;

(iii) Dr. Agnes Kalibata – Former President, AGRA, and Member, Malabo Montpellier Panel.

Transcript

1. www.mamopanel.org MONEYWISE: Policy Innovations to Finance Agrifood Systems in Africa @MaMoPanel MaMoPanel #MaMoForum 16th Malabo Montpellier Forum 07 August 2025
2. Presentation Outline Part One: Main Report Findings Part Two: Lessons from case study countries Part Three: Action agenda
3. Presentation Outline Part One: Main Report Findings Part Two: Lessons from case study countries Part Three: Action agenda & Recommendations Mr. Ishmael Sunga CEO, Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) Member, Malabo Montpellier Panel
4. Financing Agrifood Systems: Why it Matters To improve food security & nutrition • 60% of Africa’s pop’n can’t afford a healthy diet Promote sustainable land use & reverse land degradation • SSA losses USD 60 billion/ year • Reversing this requires USD 133 billion/year Job creation • 11 million youth enter labor market yearly in Africa • only 3.7 million jobs created Foundation for inclusive economic growth & climate resilience Source: shutterstock.org
5. Financing Agrifood Systems: A Policy Imperative for Africa Gov’t agriculture expenditures rose from 1990 to 2023 However, the share of total gov’t expenditure on the sector has declined Kampala CAADP Declaration • Aims to mobilize USD 100 billion by 2063 • Reaffirms need to allocate at least 10% of annual public expenditure to agrifood systems Source: Illustrated using data from resakss.org
6. Financing Agrifood Systems: Funding Streams Increase resource mobilization • domestic public spending • foreign public spending • domestic private investment & spending • foreign direct private investment & spending Financing & investment has five interconnected expenditure components Source: ifad.org
7. Unlocking Agrifood Finance: Key Constraints & Needs Actor-specific barriers to access • Smallholder farmers • Off-farm segments • Young entrepreneurs; Women • Consumers Barriers to investment • Limited financial literacy • Limited resources for innovative funding • Financial data collection challenges • Low ticket sizes • Climate change concerns Complementary investment needs • E.g. roads, electrification, and access to ICT Governance and regulatory frameworks Source: freepik.com
8. Unlocking Agrifood Finance: Strategic Interventions ✓ Innovative Financing Mechanisms ✓ Policy and Regulatory Reforms Digital finance Source: freepik.com; vectorstock.com; niyogin.com; knowclickmedia.co.ke; safnow.org, shutterstock.com
9. Presentation Outline Part One: Main Report Findings Part Two: Lessons from case study countries Part Three: Action agenda Dr. Aisha Musaazi S. Nakitto, Head, Policy Innovation Unit & Program Lead, Malabo Montpellier Panel AKADEMIYA2063, Rwanda
10. Lessons from case study countries: Methodology • Aim: Identify African countries making significant strides in financing the transformation of their agrifood systems • Indicators were compared in 3 steps to rank & select countries based on their performances
11. Methodology: 3-step approach to select country case studies Step 1: Public Finance High-ranking countries in gov’t agric expenditure as a share of: • agriculture value added • total gov’t expenditure Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, & Zambia. Step 2: Private Finance Among countries selected in Step 1, countries that also ranked high in FDI inflow to agric Malawi, Morocco, and Rwanda Source: resakss.org; fao.org/faostat
12. Countries selected for case studies Step 3: Impact of financing agrifood systems Among the countries selected in Step 2, countries with • high level of agric value added per hectare & • low cost for a healthy diet were identified Malawi, Morocco, and Rwanda
13. Malawi: Inclusive finance & investment solutions National Economic Empowerment Fund • Funds from gov’t seed capital & national budget • Revolving loan model (~ 85% repayment rate) • USD 11M Youth & Women Loan Prog (launched in 2020) • USD 21M disbursed to 107,000 beneficiaries (2021-2022) • 52,000 youth (44% of total loan); 44,500 women (39% of total loan) • Also offers Cooperative Loans & Micro-industry Loans Export development Fund • Warehouse receipt financing • USD 1M approved loans, nearly 4,000 jobs created (2014-2022) • Construction & Export Manufacturing Guarantee Facility • USD 1M to agro-processing & light manufacturing firms (2014-2022) • In 2024, 56% of funding (USD 8M) to agro-processing • ~USD 440,000 disbursed to women-led firms (2014-2022) • Of 42,000+ jobs created to-date, 51% are for women & youth Source: shutterstock.com
14. Malawi: Inclusive finance & investment solutions Skills Development Project (2014-2019) • USD 41M of funding • Strengthened market-relevant skills in agrifood systems • 20,300+ students, including 7,700 rural trainees • 42,000+ students accessed loans • 52 new academic prog in agrifood-related fields • 15 harmonized TVET programs • Infrastructure-focused (80% of funds) • Upgraded LUANAR, Chancellor College & MUBAS • Improved 12 rural skills dev’t centres & technical colleges • Built Open and Distance Learning hubs Agricultural Commercialization Project (2018–2030) • USD 360M - Inclusivity is a core focus • 260 warehouses and aggregation centers • 5,000+ agricultural machines provided • Facilitated 360+ cooperatives & created 100 processing units • enhanced employment & rural livelihoods for nearly 75,000 HHs • Other infrastructure: roads, water systems & electricity Source: freepik.com
15. Agricultural Development Fund (FDA) • Offers subsidies & financial incentives to promotes agric investment & modernization • USD 2.6 billion in incentives (2008-2018) • attracted USD 6.3 billion in private investment • Introduced digital service delivery for grants & loans approval • Offers post-investment subsidies • Covers up to 100% of costs for key agric inputs Tamwilcom • Damane Guarantees • Cover up to 80% of loan risk, helping to unlock bank finance for farmers, SMEs, & agribusinesses • Green Invest program • Co-finances climate-smart investments (up to USD 1M per loan), with flexible terms • Fin-Créa Platform • Free digital loan application portal for underserved entrepreneurs e.g. smallholders • Offers investment loans of up to USD 223,000 Morocco: Innovative finance instruments & strengthened PPPs shutterstock.com
16. Agency for Agricultural Development (ADA) • 1,575 PPP projects on 112,000 hectares (2008–2020) • USD 2.25B in private investment mobilized; Created 63,000 jobs • Accredited by Green Climate Fund • Secured USD 45M GCF grant to support climate resilience • ≈ 1,000 solidarity agriculture projects (by 2020) • 730,000 farmers benefitted • Trees planted across 440,000 ha • 450 processing units established Green Morocco Plan (PMV, 2008–2020) • Public investment in agric quadrupled, from €150M to €680M • USD 2.3B public finance mobilized & disbursed • Catalyzed $7.1B private investment • Agric. GDP doubled, from USD 7.3B to USD 14B • 2.7M+ beneficiaries reached by 2018 Green Generation Strategy (SGG) • USD 250M World Bank + €100M AFD co-financing in 2020 Morocco: Innovative finance instruments & strengthened PPPs Source: freepik.com
17. Rwanda: Finance institutions & initiatives at the forefront Business Development Fund (BDF) • 65% of BDF’s portfolio supports agriculture-related ventures • E.g. USD 3.9 million in grants to the Rwanda Dairy Development Prog. • Finance instruments for farmers, agripreneurs & rural SMEs • Guarantees, refinancing, matching grants, equity & debt finance Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) • Finances for export crops value chains e.g. coffee, tea • USD 11M disbursed to 971 farmers & agribusinesses (2022-2024) • 78% for primary production, 18% for post-harvest • USD 16M released to support various agric projects in 2024 Commercialization & De-risking Project (2022- to-date) • USD 300M ➔BRD received $ 61.5M Village Savings & Loan Associations • 92,500 VSLAs registered by 2021, with 2.5M members • 72% women participants; total savings reached ~USD 35M Source: efico.com
18. Presentation Outline Part One: Main Report Findings Part Two: Lessons from case study countries Part Three: Action agenda Dr. Agnes M. Kalibata Former President, AGRA Member, Malabo Montpellier Panel
19. Strategic Next Steps: Action Agenda Unlock domestic finance through incentives, derisking, & partnerships • Incentivize local financial institutions to invest in agrifood systems. • Deploy de-risking tools e.g. credit guarantees to attract private sector financing. • Enhance bankability by improving access to finance for smallholders e.g through land tenure reforms, smart subsidies, and stronger cooperatives. • Develop transparent, goal-aligned PPP frameworks with clear incentives for private investment.
20. Strategic Next Steps: Action Agenda Increase awareness & knowledge of innovative funding mechanisms • Raise awareness among policymakers, SMEs, and investors about emerging financial tools (e.g., impact investing). • Support research to evaluate the impact, scalability, and cost-effectiveness of new finance mechanisms in agrifood systems. • Promote peer learning and experience-sharing from regional pioneers.
21. Strategic Next Steps: Action Agenda Build institutional & technical capacity • Promote joint planning & budgeting across agric ministries & related gov’t agencies to improve coordination & resource alignment. • Provide targeted training for dev’t banks & investment authorities on innovative finance tools. • Establish dedicated units within ministries to support investment pipeline dev’t & implementation. • Enhance institutional capacity to mobilize & manage large-scale, transformative agrifood investments.
22. Strategic Next Steps: Action Agenda Bridge the gap in formal banking access • Use SMS/USSD crowdfunding in low-connectivity areas while improving digital infrastructure. • Support regional platforms to ease transactions for entrepreneurs excluded from formal banking. • Invest in training and awareness to boost adoption.
23. Strategic Next Steps: Action Agenda Aligning agrifood financing with integrated rural development • Base agrifood investments on well-costed, evidence-driven National Agricultural Investment Plans aligned with national priorities. • Coordinate funding sources with NAIPs to boost efficiency and attract development partners. • Link agrifood financing with rural development priorities, including health, education, and infrastructure.
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