‘Revolutionising finance for agri-value chains’ was the theme of the 35th Brussels Development Briefing which was held on Wednesday 5 March 2014 at the ACP Secretariat, in Brussels. It was organized by the Technical Centre for Agriculture (CTA), together with the DG Development and Cooperation of the European Commission (EC/DEVCO), the ACP Secretariat and the European NGO confederation for Relief and Development, Concord.
More than 140 participants discussed key role of finance for value chain development and emphasized the innovations in financial instruments and service.
The Briefing looked at finance as a key driver for value chain development and discussed the concept of agricultural value chain finance, new opportunities for financiers, and the new context of value chain finance in Africa – including the development of ICTs that support innovative applications. It examined the innovations in financial instruments and services and presented concrete examples of more current applications on the ground which demonstrate the potential of value chain finance for shaping African agriculture.
New! on the subject of ‘Financing Agri-Value Chains’
Introduction and Opening of the Briefing
Isolina Boto, Manager, CTA Brussels Office
Introductory remarks [video]
Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, Secretary General, ACP Secretariat; Denis Salord, Head of Unit, Regional Programmes Sub-Saharan Africa & ACP-wide, DG DEVCO, European Commission [presentation]; Michael Hailu, Director, CTA
Panel 1: Finance: a key driver for value chain development
Chair: H.E. Frédéric Assomption Korsaga, Ambassador of Burkina Faso [video]
Panelists:
– The concept of agricultural value chain finance and types of vc business models
Calvin Miller, Group Leader FAO Agribusiness and Finance Group [Video|Presentation|Summary]
– New opportunities in value chain finance
Lamon Rutten, Programme Manager, Policies, Markets & ICTs, CTA [Video|Presentation|Summary]
– Agribusiness advisory services: new context in Africa
Saleh Usman Gashua, Secretary General, Afraca [Video|Presentation|Summary]
– New opportunities for African Trade Finance
Kanayo Awani, Director Trade Finance and Branches, Afreximbank, Egypt [Video|Presentation|Summary]
– Strategic benefits of and approaches to agricultural mobile finance
Lee H. Babcock, Expert on mobile finance for agriculture, USA [Video|Presentation|Summary]
Panel 2: Innovations in financial instruments and services
Chair: H.E. Brave Ndisale, Ambassador of Malawi [video]
Panelists:
– Financing agri-processing projects in emerging markets: lessons learned
Hans Bogaard, Head of the agribusiness advisory activities, Rabo Bank [Video|Presentation|Summary]
– Linking rural entrepreneurs to financial services
Hans Balyamujura, Co-Founder and CEO of ZED Group Limited [Video|Presentation|Summary]
– Kenyan Experience in Agri-value Chain Financing
Priscilla Wambui Muiruri, Agribusiness Specialist, KAPAP [Video|Presentation|Summary]
– Finance innovations combining ICT’s and warehouse receipts
David Ruchiu, Africa Director, Farm Concern International, Kenya [Video|Presentation]
– Commodity exchange development
Adam Gross, Investments and Capital Markets Advisor, Nepad Business Foundation [Video|Presentation|Summary]
Concluding remarks
Brussels Development Briefings 
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