COLEAD was selected in July 2024 by the EDFI Management Company (EDFI MC) to provide advisory and technical assistance services to the AgriFI Facility. The overall objective is to provide technical assistance to private sector companies active in agri-food value chains in low- and middle-income countries.

To foster its work delivering financial solutions, EDFI incorporated in 2016 a limited liability company called EDFI MC. Its main purpose is to act as a platform for financial cooperation with EU institutions. EDFI MC offers three different product lines, one of which is a Blended Finance Facility Management, that provides EU-funded equity and long-term debt financing for early-stage businesses through two sector-specific investment facilities, ElectriFI – focusing on electricity access and generation from sustainable energy sources in emerging markets, and AgriFI – focusing on the agricultural sector. 

Launched in 2018, the Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFI) Facility is an innovative EU-funded blending financing instrument with a mandate to provide medium to long-term financing to private sector enterprises active in the agri-food value chain with a focus on smallholder farmers. It aims at supporting the “missing middle” companies focused on agriculture that need financing to grow but have difficulty obtaining financing from local commercial banks and international investors. The facility targets existing private sector enterprises working with smallholder farmers on financially, environmentally and socially sustainable projects with potential to scale.

The TA component of the AgriFI facility aims to enable the partner beneficiaries to scale their operations effectively through capacity building, including production/processing processes, supply chain management, organisational/business development, adoption of environmentally sustainable practices (including but not limited to efficient resource utilisation, waste management, biodiversity conservation, environmental risks management, etc.), as well as adoption of socially responsible practices (including but not limited to labour standards, community engagement, and stakeholder relations). 

The aim of TA is to enable partner beneficiaries from the Africa, Latin America & Asia region (mostly in companies located in, or whose revenues are to be used in, countries on the DAC list) to directly and indirectly to contribute to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a particular emphasis on reducing poverty (SDG 1), ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture (SDG 2), promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all (SDG 8) and taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG 13). 

The technical assistance services provided by COLEAD and others should therefore improve the performance and resilience of AgriFI’s investment portfolio and contribute to the sustainability and long-term impact of the facility by improving risk management, portfolio diversification and financial returns.