Deadline- 31 December 2013
Applications are being accepted from African Agri-Business Operators for Agriculture Fast Track Fund (AFT) Program supported by African Development Bank (AfDB). The AFT provides grant funds up to USD 1.5 million for project development costs such as feasibility studies, market research, financial modeling, business plan development, and environmental and social impact studies. The mission of this program is to reduce the infrastructure deficiency in the agriculture sector by developing a pipeline of projects that are attractive to Development Finance Institutions and can engage the private sector as project sponsors.
Eligibility & Criteria-
- AFT is available to support agriculture infrastructure investment projects in the following countries: Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana, and Ethiopia.
- The AFT fund will provide funding solely for the preparation activities associated with securing financing for the investment. Activities that the AFT can support include Feasibility studies, Market research, Business plan development, Environmental/Social impact assessments, Advice on investment structuring and financing and engineering designs and costing. AFT will not support construction costs, working capital, employee salaries, training, capacity building or technical assistance.
- The AFT is intended to support investments that create benefits for smallholder farmers such as Economic benefits from employment; Increased access to markets; Increased food security for surrounding communities.
- AFT grants are available to support qualified investments of a value greater than $1M USD.
- The investment activities to be financed by the AFT grant must be completed within 24 months after the signing of the grant agreement, including any required audits and reporting.
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