Match-making : Linking farmers to financial institutions and SMEs

In July, SNV, in partnership with AGRA under the Programme for Rural Outreach of Financial Innovations and Technologies (PROFIT), organized a ‘match-making’ event in Meru County, Kenya that brought together farmers from the region, financial institutions and SMEs. The objective of the event was to provide a forum for discussion between the farmers and SMEs on one hand and the financial institutions on the other thereby enabling each side to understand the critical issues impeding access to finance.

Present at the event were livestock farmers (cattle, goats, poultry, fish and bees), input suppliers, market intermediaries and financial service providers. The event provided a platform for smallholder farmers, financial institutions, input suppliers and SMEs to interact and explore opportunities for stimulating access to and utilization of innovative financial services and technologies in livestock sub-sectors. This is in line with one of AGRF’s passion point of financial inclusion for farmers. While financial institutions are key in mobilizing private financing necessary for a sustainable agriculture transformation, equally is the need to provide technical assistance for business services in helping smallholder farmers to enhance their productivity, linkages with markets and finance. This is what PROFIT aims to achieve. 

PROFIT program is an intervention funded by IFAD through the Government of Kenya and implemented in partnership with AGRA. SNV has been contracted by AGRA to provide technical assistance to 8,250 smallholder farmers in the livestock value chain within Meru and Isiolo Counties. The aim of the intervention is to increase access to and utilization of innovative financial products and services by smallholder livestock farmers.