SEFAA is our impact-first fund focused on enhancing the business ecosystem for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. SEFAA’s theory of change is that significant poverty alleviation can be achieved by improving the productivity of smallholder farmers (SHFs) by providing growth funding to viable Social Agricultural Enterprises (SAEs) providing products and services to SHFs or rural MSMEs.
Theory of Change
- Fund Launch Date: 2021
- Fund Size: USD ($) 24 million
- Investment Instruments: Primarily debt funding, but with flexibility to make equity and quasi-equity investments
- Geographical Focus: Thirteen countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
- Investment Ticket Size: $300,000 to $2.4 million
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Investment Focus: SEFAA invests in Social Agricultural Enterprises (“SAEs”) and/or intermediaries that:
- Increase productivity of smallholder farmers or other SAEs.
- Address market access limitations and information asymmetries for smallholder farmers or other SAEs
- Offer agricultural finance adjusted to the specific needs and production cycles of smallholder farmers or other SAEs
- Other Fund Features: A separate Technical Assistance Facility that supports portfolio companies with building of management capacity, product certification, market research, ESG related, and development of smallholder farmer out-grower networks.