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Market engagement

From livestock to loans to legal advice, we empower Africa’s rural entrepreneurs to achieve more.

Creating and opening up access to wider markets for farmers reduces poverty and increases food security. We work to strengthen every aspect of farming supply chains, from soil to supermarket.

Our local staff work directly with farmers as a bridge: to wider markets, to government, to funders and the private sector.

We help develop strong markets for farmers’ products. We ensure farmers adapt to what buyers want. We help them build co-operatives, so they can sell in bulk.

Whether it’s premium coffee in Ethiopia or the lucrative French bean in Kenya, we help rural communities identify and tap into consumer demand so they can sell more and sell for more.

We bolster first-mile businesses that supply small farms with high-quality seed, fertilisers and animal fodder. And we support those who collate smaller farms’ produce to sell to wider markers.

How can you pay for the construction of a warehouse if you have no money? How can you save if you have no bank account? There’s too little cash to keep African farming markets moving. We help farmers and agribusinesses gain access to the finance they need.

We establish local savings associations, and help small and medium-sized businesses apply for loans. This injects new life into markets, helping markets to grow, which not only boosts farmers’ profits, but also provides job opportunities for people making the move from being farmers themselves to seeking work in small towns.

Funders are often reluctant to lend to high-risk, inexperienced farming businesses with no paperwork or proof they can become viable. We provide those small businesses with training on how to professionalise and develop into respected enterprises.

The following papers summarise Farm Africa's approach to: 

This paper provides a concise overview of Farm Africa's approach to business (3723KB).

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