A 2012 report introducing Opportunity International's model for financing smallholder farmers:
Across Africa, a lack of access to finance for farmers limits the continent’s ability to take advantage of its abundant natural resources for food production. Smallholder farmers without collateral are unable to access the finance needed to purchase improved seeds, fertilizers and chemicals to optimize productivity.
Past efforts to finance agriculture in Africa have generally failed due to inappropriate lending policies, a disregard for external and internal market influences, a lack of understanding of farmers’ household pressures and a lack of coordination among key stakeholders. Sustainably financing agriculture in Africa requires comprehensive interventions that bring together various actors across value chains in order to meet the needs of different farmers.
In 2005, Opportunity International, in conjunction with the World Bank, launched an agricultural finance pilot in Malawi. Today they provide a range of financial services to smallholder farmers in Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda and Uganda as well. Their strategy involves a comprehensive analysis with four key components:
Not only do Opportunity’s financial packages equip farmers with the necessary services to move from subsistence to commercial farming, they help farmers feed their villages and ultimately their nations.
Opportunity International operates the Africa Growth and Innovations Initiative to promote access to loans, savings programs and other critical financial products and services by expanding delivery channels. Opportunity International also hosts the Knowledge Exchange.
Press release: Opportunity International and The MasterCard Foundation partnership
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