Opinions from FARA: Mid-term review (MTR) of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund

Thursday, 19 May 2011

Mid-term review (MTR) of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund

07/05/2011. An independent mid-term review (MTR) of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) has found that the Fund is well on its way to making a difference to millions of Africa’s rural poor, according to an AECF press release.

The AECF is a US$ 100 million challenge fund that provides investment support to the private sector for their new and innovative business ideas in agribusiness, rural financial services and renewable energy/adaptation to climate change that will benefit Africa’s small farmers and rural households. It is hosted by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), based in Nairobi, Kenya, and is supported by the governments of Australia, Denmark, Netherlands and the UK as well as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Fund Manager (FM) is KPMG Africa Development Advisory Services and partners.

The MTR follows a series of in-depth reviews of various aspects of the AECF. Its main purpose was to ascertain whether the AECF is on track to meet its objectives and to suggest improvements to existing governance and management processes. This MTR took place after three years of the Fund’s operation. Another review of the AECF is planned for 2014.

The review found that the AECF has already achieved impressive results in the first three years.
The Fund Manager has developed effective systems for attracting and selecting the best business ideas and is currently managing an exciting and diverse portfolio of 48 projects in 16 African countries.
The programme is underpinned by an effective investment committee, consisting of five highly-experienced independent experts. The existing portfolio has the potential to deliver significant development impact and increased food security for millions of rural poor in Africa.
The review team also made a number of recommendations aimed at strengthening AECF’s effectiveness as a development challenge fund, including increased integration within existing structures of AGRA.

Upon release of the findings of the MTR report, André Dellevoet, Executive Manager of the AECF, said: “I am very proud of the team at AGRA and KPMG Africa DAS and their partners for the wonderful work they have done. I am confident that we will continue to achieve impressive results as the AECF continues to grow and reach an increasing number of Africans”.

48 projects in 16 African countries...

Agrobiotec - Burundi
The project’s purpose is “the rapid multiplication of banana clean planting material” using tissue culture technology for improved banana production in the 3 countries of Central Africa (Burundi, Rwanda and DRC-Congo).

Brarudi SA - Burundi
The goal of this project is to improve the livelihoods of sorghum producers in Burundi by assisting the local Brewery, Brarudi, to develop a local sorghum supply chain to supply its brewery with raw material for a new product 100% sorghum beer.

Guinness - Cameroon
The purpose of this project is to increase the income of smallholder farmers in North Cameroon through increased sorghum yields and sale to GCSA. This will be achieved through a programme to train farmers in improved production practices; development of the supply chain for improved production inputs (seed and fertilizer); increasing the management capacity of local producer groups and other value chain improvements.

Gourmet Gardens Ltd - DRC
The project will develop a thriving and profitable cocoa and vanilla business that will sustainably increase rural household incomes of 1,500 families in North Kivu area of DRC through quality improvements, better standards, certification and new marketing channels.

Yara International SA - Ghana
The Ghana Grains Partnership is developing a programme of coordinated private-public activities with the aim of significantly scaling up current national initiatives initially along the maize value chain and, in so doing, to make a significant and lasting impact on rural livelihoods. The intention of the Partnership being to build markets / small farmer capacity to produce maize so as to: address key food security issues in the country; expand domestic production; improve competitiveness, and sell more fertiliser.

Lachlan Ltd - Kenya
The project aims to develop, test, register and sell natural Terpene based products to control insect pests in an environmentally safe way on smallholder farms in 8 countries in Eastern Africa (starting with Kenya).

Dominion Farms Ltd - Kenya
Dominion Farms is developing a large scale commercial tilapia business in Western Kenya that will benefit the company, employees, smallholder farmers and consumers

Virtual City Ltd - Kenya
The Dairy Supply Chain Automation Project aims to address systemic issues along the dairy value chain by contributing to reliable, accurate information systems that will improve milk production; increase milk delivery to processors; improve information flow to farmers and increase farmer incomes.

InfraCo Ltd - Kenya
The purpose of the project is to create a private sector run wholesale market for the Kenyan Fresh Fruit and Vegetable sector, serving the domestic market and the East Africa region.

The Real IPM Company (k) Ltd - Kenya
The objective of the project is for Real IPM to commercialize a bioherbicide (the Foxy 2 isolate of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. strigae) for Striga control in maize, millet and sorghum.

Western Seed Company - Kenya
This project aims to bring improved maize seed varieties to the smallholder farmer thereby increasing productivity and rural farmer incomes. Using a “Direct Access System” that employs the use of “Farmer Agents”, (these are selected farmers, entrepreneurs and respected community persons), and cellphone payment and information systems as an innovative way to increase seed access, disseminate information, increase seed adoption and distribution.

Biologics Limited - Kenya
This project aims to provide cost-effective baculovirus-based bio-insecticides, first and foremost to smallholders. These viruses, used worldwide, are currently not available in East Africa. The viruses provide an effective and safe way to control diamondback moth and other pests on various smallholder crops. The project will register and produce these viruses for sale - in Kenya initially.

Rift Valley Products Ltd. - Kenya
This project aims to revive the cotton industry in the Kerio Valley and then in Kenya more widely. 8,000 smallholder farmers will be contracted to grow cotton in an area where cotton growing has declined over many years. New extension and other systems will be used to re-vitalize the cotton industry.

Illovo Sugar Company - Malawi
The primary functions of NBLP will be to act as a transparent and fair mechanism to raise and manage income and technical assistance for rural community and economic development initiatives in the surrounding district of Chikwawa. The predominant initial focus of NBLP will be to establish a 300 hectare irrigated sugar cane farm to supply cane to the Illovo factory at Nchalo

AGF Afrique - Mali
The project will build an insurance based risk management tool for farmers in Mali and Burkina Faso to reduce the risk of having their crops destroyed by natural disasters (drought, flood, insect and bird invasions)

Money Box Africa - Nigeria
The project aims to provide financial services to currently unbanked people in Nigeria using mobile phones, scratch cards/ePINS

Dutch Agricultural Development & Trading Co. B.V - Nigeria
The project aims to introduce a new and innovative cassava processing system to the doorstep of 40,000 small-farmer households (12,000 by end of Year 3) at village level in Nigeria

Olam - Nigeria
The project aims to develop an integrated rice farming and processing model to enhance local rice production that can compete successfully with imported rice

Monitise Plc Monitise - Nigeria
The project aims to provide mobile banking and payment services to enable the rural poor, and others, to gain access to secure and reliable financial services without the necessity of having a physical banking infrastructure. The project is designed to enable mobile banking customers to save money, make payments, transfer funds and deposit and withdraw cash through a wide choice of mobile networks, banks and mobile handsets.

Bennimix Food Company - Sierra Leone
The project aims to improve incomes for legume producers in Sierra Leone by linking them to Bennimix Supply Chain (whose production capacity is set to increase from 60 to 800 MT in 3 years)

Splash Mobile Money - Sierra Leone
The project will extend simple, transactional banking services (by mobile/ cellphone banking) to the unbanked in Sierra Leone, facilitating instant, secure and cheap payments over long distances

Biolands International Ltd - Sierra Leone
The project aims to improve the quality and quantity of cocoa (including introducing organic and social/fair trade certification where possible) produced by smallholder farmers. It will also improve the marketing of the cocoa. The project will lead to an increase in the average farmer incomes from cocoa and provide a model for smallholder cash crop production in Sierra Leone.

Afrivet Business Management - South Africa
This project is establishing an animal health skills development program for emerging stock farmers, owners and workers in South Africa. The project aims to develop and accredit the training modules, establish the service delivery capacity required, implement the program nationally; and establish stock remedy distribution networks.

SABMiller Plc - Sudan
The purpose of the project is to introduce an innovative local sourcing model for cassava that will bring significant long-term market opportunities for small farmers in Southern Sudan while providing a reliable supply of cassava at the right quality and cost to allow SABMiller to use cassava in beer production for the first time.

Rungwe Avocado Company Ltd - Tanzania
The project’s purpose is the establishment and growth of a commercial avocado growing, packing, processing and exporting business in Southern Tanzania benefitting the company and smallholder farmers.

Quality Food Products Ltd - Tanzania
The purpose of the project is to increase production of safflower seed and food crops by small holder farmers in remote areas of Tanzania through the introduction of innovative conservation tillage (zero-tillage) technologies.

Tanga Fresh Ltd - Tanzania
The project aims to increase the production, collection and supply of milk from smallholder dairy farmers to Tanga Fresh Limited, thereby increasing farmer incomes and livelihoods

Export Trading Company - Tanzania
The project aims to add value to the pigeon pea sector through the introduction of a processing plant combined with further promotion of improved cultivars and crop husbandry. Growers, traders and exporters will be able to strengthen their (international) market position and enhance their profit margins.

Paperhole Investments (Pvt) Ltd - Zimbabwe
The aim of this project is to create a network of rural resource centres which are capable of offering a platform from where a wide range of essential services can be offered, by a number of providers, to the small scale farmer, rural business persons and rural inhabitants.

Makera Cattle Company - Zimbabwe
This project will see Makera Cattle Company’s large herd of pedigree Tuli and Simmenthal bulls loaned to rural herds with the aim of breeding out inferior genes and increasing the quality and quantity of the rural herds. The steers that result from the breeding project will be bought by Makera at fair market value to be fattened for sale to abattoirs. Heifers will remain with the rural owners.

Kettex (Pvt) Ltd - Zimbabwe
Kettex aims to create a sustainable commercial operation, called Feya Feya, that will supply rural stores with agricultural inputs and other supplies at competitive retail prices

Sondelani Ranching Zimbabwe
The aim of the project is to establish a new Tomato Processing plant. This will also involve building a reliable supply chain to ensure that the processing plant is assured of adequate inputs. Sondelani will set up processing facilities at its premises in Bulawayo, focusing on the more highly refined Concentrated Pastes and Dried Tomato Powder.

Northern Farming - Zimbabwe
Northern Farming aims to secure and support a large growers base of small scale and commercial farmers to grow food crops and seed crops and sell this produce on the domestic market.

CABS - Zimbabwe
The aim of the project is to provide a cell phone banking package that includes wide functionality that includes deposits and cash withdrawal, balance enquiries, transfers, unbanked payments, receipt of remittances from the Diaspora and other pre-paid initiatives such as bill payment and market information.

Kencor Management Services (Pvt) Ltd - Zimbabwe
The project aims to establish a Small Scale Grower seed contract production scheme coupled with localised seed cleaning and conditioning through the use of mobile seed cleaning units. The scheme will produce high quality seed that will be accessible and affordable to local communities and people in the general locality, in a timely and affordable manner.

Coopers (1992) (Pvt) Ltd - Zimbabwe
The project aims target the rural poor communities with the objective of equipping these rural families with animal management skills and thereby enabling them to generate further wealth from their asset.

Produtrade Pvt Ltd - Zimbabwe
The project aims to establish a network of Trading Posts in Zimbabwe; each one a convenient, one-stop-shop for the rural community, where people can sell their commodities and buy their farming inputs and household goods. They will also form the points from which an outgrowing and a financial services scheme will be launched that will develop the area and empower the target market.