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New Farmer Alliance to Improve Incomes and Food Security in Africa
WASHINGTON, DC, June 12, 2012 – Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Vodafone, and TechnoServe launched a new partnership to increase the productivity, incomes and resilience of smallholder farmers in Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The Connected Farmer Alliance will leverage mobile phone-enabled solutions to improve supply chain efficiency and increase farmers’ ability to access secure, timely payments and other financial services.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Acumen Fund Invests in Virtual City to Automate Agricultural Supply Chains in East Africa and….
Nairobi, Kenya, June 5, 2012 – Acumen Fund, a pioneering nonprofit global venture firm addressing poverty across Africa and in South Asia, today announced a $1.5 million convertible debt investment in Virtual City, a mobile technology services provider based in Nairobi.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- supply chains
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Virtual City gets Sh135m loan from US social fund
Virtual City, a local software development firm, has received a Sh135 million ($1.5 million) convertible loan from Acumen Fund for the development of a mobile-based agricultural application to help small-scale farmers market their produce.The investment represents the latest capital inflows from international investors in the local information technology sector, which is emerging as a key target for venture capitalist firms.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Board Approves Equity Investment of U.S. $100 Million in Agvance Africa
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) approved on 16 May in Tunis, an equity investment of USD 100 million to Agvance Africa, the first agribusiness-focused Fund of Funds on the African continent. The strategic objective of Agvance Africa is to increase private investment flows into the agribusiness sector on the continent to address growing food security concerns and unleash the largely unexploited potential of African agriculture and agribusiness sectors.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact investing
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‘Explore cocoa potential,’ ICCO urges manufacturers
The International Cocoa Coordination Organisation (ICCO), on Wednesday, urged Nigerian manufacturers to explore the potential of cocoa, so as to produce more cocoa-based goods.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Scaling up the fight against poverty and hunger in Africa
Agriculture is a powerful tool for reducing poverty and hunger. Events of recent years – such as food price increases, droughts, growing climate change impacts and other emergencies – have put agriculture high on the international agenda.We should be clear that agriculture is the solution. Economic growth generated by agriculture is more than twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors. Agricultural development is also an effective means of assisting developing countries in building capacity and infrastructure as well as introducing innovation and technology.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Obama turns to private sector to feed world’s poor
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama on Friday reached out to the private sector in hopes of lifting 50 million people in the developing world from poverty, as wealthy nations grapple with a budget crunch.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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First Fund to Help Smallholder Farmers with Long-Term Loans
Incofin Investment Management, Fairtrade International (FLO) and Grameen Foundation will establish a ‘First Fund’ to focus on the unmet demand of smallholder farmers for long-term loans.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Latin America