Aceli Africa

Direct beneficiaries: around 750 East African agricultural businesses, including farmers organisations.

End beneficiaries: around 1’115’000 smallholder farmers and rural poor (around 5,6 million rural vulnerable low-income household members) in Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda will earn USD 200 million incremental income by  2025.

A particular focus lies on businesses procuring from women suppliers, women led businesses, businesses with women in senior management, business that provide employment opportunities for women or provide goods or services targeting women. 

The two main outcomes of Aceli are:

1)   Responsible and inclusive growth and increased revenue of around 750 agricultural businesses that generates value for around 1’115’000 smallholder farmers and rural poor people in terms of higher smallholder farm productivity, growing and inclusive employment, improving food security and nutrition, enhanced gender equality (leadership, employment opportunities, entrepreneurship), and higher levels of climate-smart and agro-ecological agriculture triggered by their access to around USD 700 million capital by 2025.

2) Strengthen the enabling environment for agricultural business finance at country level in terms of lower subsidies (i.e. financial incentives) required for ‘social’ lenders to maintain their lending levels and at least two national governments committing funding for Aceli-like support for agricultural finance by 2025. 

Resultados previstos:  

1)  Increased number of agricultural business- ses that qualify for Aceli facilitated loans.

2)  Increased lending to agricultural business-ses through risk-sharing with the ‘social’ lenders (receiving financial incentives from Aceli).

3)  Support innovative business models to drive operational efficiency and financial sustainability for lending in high-impact but difficult-to-serve financial markets.

4)  Use data to optimise targeted financial incentives and build the evidence base for policy & budget reform to support agricultural finance at country level.

Resultados de las fases anteriores:   SDC has been pioneering with Roots of Impact, Root Capital, Inter-American Development Bank Lab social impact incentives since 2016 in Latin America serving as a pilot for Aceli. SDC offered USD 1,8 million grants to Root Capital, incl. 1 million for SIINC payments with resulted so far in (1) 39 loans of USD 11,4 million to 32 businesses, (2) USD 46,7 million in gross revenue, (3) USD 40,5million payments to 8’866 farmers, as well as (4) additional USD 6,1 million payments to the farmers.

X Synergies with SDC’s programmes on Youth Inclusive Rural Finance and Support to Innovation for Social Change in Tanzania and on youth employment and private sector promotion in Rwanda.

X Synergies with the GPFS smallholder safety net promotion initiative SSNUP and the ABC Fund (GPFS agricultural investment initiative RAIL).

X  Synergies with SECO in collaborating with Swiss and other global agricultural impact investors.