Building Financial Inclusion, Gender Equity, And Prosperity For Smallholder Farmers In Africa

Model and Strategy

Root Capital builds prosperity in poor, environmentally vulnerable communities in Africa & Latin America by supporting agricultural enterprises that are powerful engines of economic development. By providing tailored financial products and management training, Root Capital grows prosperity for hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers and their families. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN states that with equal access to productive resources, women farmers could reduce global hunger by up to 17%. Through this project, Root Capital will unlock women's potential to realize their full benefits to society across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by fueling the growth of businesses that offer essential economic opportunities for women farmers. In 2014, Root Capital provided services to 98 businesses in SSA, reaching 310,000 farmers – including 87,000 women. By year end 2016 that impact will grow to 356,000, including 115,000 farmers (28,000 of them women) living in extreme poverty.

Impact

Support SGBs across sub-Saharan Africa as vehicles of economic development for farming families by expanding our services and focusing on building gender equity – as research shows that female farmers have out-sized potential to reduce poverty when given equal access to resources.

Triple the impact by delivering 465 days of financial management training, with more than half focused on resources for female employees and farmers. The trainings will assist SGBs in qualifying for and managing loans – building a pipeline of lending clients and the average loan size Root Capital can provide.

Root Capital