Annual Plenary Meeting of the Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network and workshop on Business Models for the Delivery of Technical Assistance Complementing Finance for Smallholders/Agri-SMEs
by Aïnina Aïdara and Marzia Perilli
On 11-12 October 2018, the Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network (SAFIN) held its second Annual Plenary Meeting and a workshop on 'Business Models for the Delivery of Technical Assistance Complementing Finance for Smallholders and Agri-SMEs' at IFAD headquarters. The events brought together about 60 SAFIN partners and guest speakers from a diverse set of communities in the agri-finance and agri-SME development ecosystems from Africa, Asia, North and Central America, and Europe.
The event kicked off with the partners' plenary meeting, which was designed as a space for the SAFIN community to reflect upon its path and for partners to better know each other, share perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of the network, and discuss plans for 2019-2020. One key objective of the session, which was led by SAFIN's Senior Coordinator Bettina Prato, was to cultivate trust and mutual understanding among partners, as a key precondition for an effective network, and as the ground on which partners can stand to work towards their shared vision of a more effective and inclusive ecosystem for agri-SME finance and investment. Partners confirmed their commitment and engagement particularly under network activities related to blended finance, aligning investments at the country level around the SAFIN investment prospectuses, and knowledge sharing. Many good ideas were generated and shared about activities that the network may put on its agenda for next year. Many suggestions were also made about how to strengthen communication flows and outreach to some key stakeholder groups (e.g. commercial banks and farmers organizations). Partners also flagged the importance of transactional space to share and learn about their respective projects and to explore collaborations and co-investment opportunities.
The event continued with a workshop featuring a variety of interactive sessions including panels, pop-up presentations and two "clinics." The three panels delved into the pluses and minuses and the specific design and implementation challenges of different models of delivery of TA –notably technical assistance facilities, value chain-embedded and cooperative-based TA. They also addressed the challenges of TA market development and the role of development finance in that context. Some proposals for follow up by the network were formulated, for instance around benchmarking work on specific models of delivery and around country-level mapping of TA providers, perhaps complemented by a validation system vetted by SAFIN partners.
During the pop-up session, five new initiatives or products under development in different institutions were presented in rotation to small groups of participants. The purpose of this was to elicit questions and suggestions for improvement, as well as to stimulate the identification of possible partnerships for the implementation, replication or scaling up of specific initiatives. The pop-up presentations covered the following:
Like the pop up sessions and the partners' plenary, the clinics effectively underlined the great potential for "transactional" value generation that exists within the network, as partners and other participants put on the table a tremendous aggregate amount of knowledge as well as interest and enthusiasm around these new initiatives, and many expressed the desire to stay engaged and to provide further support. More generally, there was a pervasive sense of "critical mass" during the two days of the meetings, which reflects a stage of significant advancement of the network from its early conceptualization a year and a half ago. The challenge in the coming months will be to expand on the areas of greatest value to partners and to continue to balance transactional and ecosystem-changing value, and the interplay between global and country-driven dimensions of network action.
On 11-12 October 2018, the Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network (SAFIN) held its second Annual Plenary Meeting and a workshop on 'Business Models for the Delivery of Technical Assistance Complementing Finance for Smallholders and Agri-SMEs' at IFAD headquarters. The events brought together about 60 SAFIN partners and guest speakers from a diverse set of communities in the agri-finance and agri-SME development ecosystems from Africa, Asia, North and Central America, and Europe.
The event kicked off with the partners' plenary meeting, which was designed as a space for the SAFIN community to reflect upon its path and for partners to better know each other, share perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of the network, and discuss plans for 2019-2020. One key objective of the session, which was led by SAFIN's Senior Coordinator Bettina Prato, was to cultivate trust and mutual understanding among partners, as a key precondition for an effective network, and as the ground on which partners can stand to work towards their shared vision of a more effective and inclusive ecosystem for agri-SME finance and investment. Partners confirmed their commitment and engagement particularly under network activities related to blended finance, aligning investments at the country level around the SAFIN investment prospectuses, and knowledge sharing. Many good ideas were generated and shared about activities that the network may put on its agenda for next year. Many suggestions were also made about how to strengthen communication flows and outreach to some key stakeholder groups (e.g. commercial banks and farmers organizations). Partners also flagged the importance of transactional space to share and learn about their respective projects and to explore collaborations and co-investment opportunities.
The event continued with a workshop featuring a variety of interactive sessions including panels, pop-up presentations and two "clinics." The three panels delved into the pluses and minuses and the specific design and implementation challenges of different models of delivery of TA –notably technical assistance facilities, value chain-embedded and cooperative-based TA. They also addressed the challenges of TA market development and the role of development finance in that context. Some proposals for follow up by the network were formulated, for instance around benchmarking work on specific models of delivery and around country-level mapping of TA providers, perhaps complemented by a validation system vetted by SAFIN partners.
During the pop-up session, five new initiatives or products under development in different institutions were presented in rotation to small groups of participants. The purpose of this was to elicit questions and suggestions for improvement, as well as to stimulate the identification of possible partnerships for the implementation, replication or scaling up of specific initiatives. The pop-up presentations covered the following:
- The East African Farmers Federation's (EAFF) Scaling-Up Rural Youth Access to Inclusive Financial Services for Entrepreneurship and Employment, an IFAD-supported project led by EAFF in East Africa to support young farmers' groups to develop viable enterprises and access finance to invest in these.
- The Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) Management Company's Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFI), a facility that co-invests with European DFIs by taking up the higher risk shares in investments aligned with ESG reporting indicators.
- Rabobank India's Blended Finance Risk Mitigation Products, three recent products focused on risk sharing, through which Rabobank India has managed to engage the commercial banking sector in India to expand its work in agriculture (including with farmers' organizations).
- The MIX and SCOPEinsight's Data portal to increase visibility and mobilize finance to the missing middle (concept note stage).
- IFAD's Agricultural Business Capital (ABC) Fund, an impact investment fund for smallholder farmers and rural small and medium-sized enterprises.
Like the pop up sessions and the partners' plenary, the clinics effectively underlined the great potential for "transactional" value generation that exists within the network, as partners and other participants put on the table a tremendous aggregate amount of knowledge as well as interest and enthusiasm around these new initiatives, and many expressed the desire to stay engaged and to provide further support. More generally, there was a pervasive sense of "critical mass" during the two days of the meetings, which reflects a stage of significant advancement of the network from its early conceptualization a year and a half ago. The challenge in the coming months will be to expand on the areas of greatest value to partners and to continue to balance transactional and ecosystem-changing value, and the interplay between global and country-driven dimensions of network action.