Photo by: Duane Daws
African Development Bank’s (AfDB’s) multidonor trust fund, the Agriculture Fast Track (AFT) Fund, announced on Thursday that it is accepting applications for new grants.
The fund’s main objective is to reduce the infrastructure deficiency in the agriculture sector by developing a pipeline of projects that are attractive to development finance institutions and that could engage the private sector as project sponsors.
“By offering entrepreneurs an opportunity to transform their good ideas into bankable investments, the AFT aims to attract financiers by ensuring that the grantees present low-risk profitable investments,” the AfDB said.
The AFT would provide grant funds of up to $1.5-million for project development costs such as feasibility studies, market research, financial modelling, business plan development and environmental- and social-impact studies.
To qualify for an AFT grant, applicants had to seek a minimum investment of $1-million and be based in one of the fund’s six pilot countries – Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania.
Applicants also had to prove that they would contribute to Africa’s agricultural infrastructure and the economic health of the continent’s struggling smallholder farmers.
To date the AFT, funded by the US Agency for International Development, the Swedish Development Agency and the Danish International Development Agency, had awarded six grants for a total amount of $3.22-million.
The call for proposals for grants would be open until December 31.