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USAID Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity Boosts Business Environment With Launch Of Finance and Investment Resource

The Finance and Investment Compendium aims to help entrepreneurs and businesses make informed choices when accessing finance to expand their businesses.

ABUJA, Nigeria—The Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity, managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has published a user-friendly quick reference guide—Finance and Investment Compendium, for Nigerian agribusinesses looking for concise information on available financing options to expand and scale up their operations. Implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), the five-year Activity aims to strengthen the enabling environment for agribusiness finance and investment in Nigeria.

“While information on intervention schemes is available online, it is difficult for agribusiness owners to view them together and compare them in terms of eligibility, cost, requirements, and suitability. We believe that this Compendium addresses that gap and makes it easier for businesses to weigh their options and come to the best decisions for financing their plans.”

“Many Nigerian agribusinesses are seeking information on financing to grow and succeed. They need an easy-to-access resource that helps them compare available options and determine which best suits their needs. With information on an assortment of intervention and grant schemes in one document, the Finance and Investment Compendium will make it easier for growing agribusinesses to make good decisions for financing their plans, creating a more dynamic and competitive agriculture sector,” said Dominic Graham, chief of party and managing director of the Activity.

Part of the Activity’s focus on creating an inclusive enabling environment for agribusinesses, the Compendium is among the Activity’s efforts to create resources that foster a confidence-inspiring investment climate. It provides overviews of a range of funding sources, including terms, eligibility criteria, and application requirements. Started in 2018, the Activity strengthens the enabling environment for agribusiness finance and investment, supports access to finance, and facilitates investment, linking thousands of enterprises and producer organizations with high-performing commercial actors in the aquaculture, cowpea, maize, rice, and soybean value chains.

The Compendium summarizes a range of agricultural intervention funds, guarantees, and grant schemes available to agribusiness in a consolidated document. Agribusinesses and entrepreneurs, particularly women and youth, will find useful information throughout the Compendium to better understand their financing options, like the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Fund, which supports marginalized groups like women, and the Youth Entrepreneurship Support Program.

Entrepreneurs throughout the agricultural sector will also find funds and schemes tailored to their agribusinesses, including financing specific to food production, aggregation, logistics, storage, commodity processing, packaging, and distribution, among others,

With greater awareness of available financing options through the Compendium, informed agribusinesses and entrepreneurs will have more confidence to expand their operations—another step toward a favorable business environment that increases investment, creates jobs, and stimulates agribusiness growth in Nigeria.

The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.

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About CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) is an international agricultural development organization that specializes in the design and implementation of sustainable, enterprise-based agricultural initiatives. We work with businesses, foundations, governments, and communities to build customized local and global partnerships that meet the world’s growing demand for food. Since our inception in 1985, we have designed and implemented enterprise-based agricultural development initiatives to facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness, increase productivity, and improve access to inputs and financing in 47 countries around the world.