NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

One of Nigeria’s foremost social impact enterprises, Babban Gona has received the first loan of US$5 million by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

IFAD’s new investment initiative is a Private Sector Financing Programme (PSFP) to spearhead an increase in much-needed private investment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), farmers’ organisations and financial intermediaries servicing small-scale farmers, which are too often neglected by investors. It will provide loans, risk management instruments (such as guarantees), and equity investments.

Photo courtesy of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.