Africa Agri-Finance Forum | AAFF 2018

24-25 September 2018. Nairobi. Africa Agri-Finance Forum | AAFF 2018. This event themed "Adopting Best for Inclusive Lending For the Agricultural Value Chain" showcased solutions that will close the productivity gap as a stride toward alleviating Agri-finance activities in the continent.

The Conference offered in-depth focused discussions on topical issues as part of AAFF initiative to generate take-home practical solutions that will see the agricultural industry reach its critical mass. The program covered important case developments, critical practice issues, and notable agricultural trends.

Topics
Financial inclusion and innovation in Agriculture· Inclusive investment

• Titianne Donde Agribusiness Advisor Prosper Africa
  
• Mr. Gabriel Rugalema FAO Representative in Kenya
• Wambui Chege (see picture), Team leader, Mastercard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity

Value chain financing· Building competitive commercial Value Chains

• Mary Munyiri Chief Executive Officer ECLOF Kenya Gabriel
• Runo Merchant Cargill Kenya Limited
• Martin Slawek Manager ISF Advisors
• Mr. Saleh Gashua Secretary General African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association
• Andrew E. Temu Executive Chairman, Diligent Consulting Ltd , Tanzania

Doing Successful Agribusiness in Africa·Enabling farmers to think like business people· Important Business initiatives and skills

• Yohannes Assefa Director, Agriculture and Agribusiness USAID
  
• Samir Ibrahim CEO SunCulture
• Dr Alex Ariho (see picture) CEO African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN)

Risk mitigation: Risks perceived by formal financiers (fear to lend); Risks perceived by farmers (fear to borrow); Insurance

• Nkem Onwuamaegbu (see picture) Senior Underwriter World Bank Group
  
• Jackson Echoka Head-Risk Department Agricultural Finance Corporation

Public-private partnerships· Source of lending-public finance vs private sector funding Unlocking private funding- Partnership for effective financing

• Frédéric Massé Head of Africa Agriculture Industry Sap Africa
• Tom Opapa Director Global Institutional and Partnerships – Africa Kickstart
• Tom Adlam Director for Rwanda AgDevCo

The role of digital finance technologies Reduce operating costs

• Hillary Miller-Wise founder and CEO Tulaa
• Dr. Gilbert Saggia

Policies: Infrastructure & legal/regulatory intervention Duties, Interest rate caps; Lenders expansion regulations; Prudential regulations; Dispute resolutions mechanisms for contract farming; Land rights