The Agribusiness Challenge Fund

 Deadline Date: November 22, 2024

 Donor Name: Mastercard Foundation

 Grant Size: More than $1 million

https://frp.org/challenge-fund/the-agribusiness-challenge-fund

Submissions are now open for the Agribusiness Challenge Fund that will offer direct financial support to address the resource flow barriers faced by SMEs looking to scale-up and, in turn, create and sustain employment opportunities for young women and men.

The objective of the Fund is to unlock enterprise growth and catalyse, scale-up and sustain the creation of dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for young women and young men. Through several sector-specific rolling challenges, the Fund will target entities that have innovative and scalable business models with significant potential to create jobs, supporting them to create sustainable impact.

Categories

• Categories of Interest in the Agribusiness Challenge
  • Primary production
  • Processing and aggregation
  • Trading and market linkages
• Categories of Interest Within the Agriculture Value Chain
  • While broadly interested in any agribusiness opportunity that is capable of work creation opportunities for young women and men, those working in these or other parts of the agriculture value chain are encouraged to apply:
    • Forestry
    • Fishing
    • Horticulture
    • Plant Breeding
    • Agro input supplies
    • Cash crop – cocoa
    • Cash crop – cotton
    • Cash crop – coffee
    • Cash crop – tea
    • Fruits and vegetables
    • Livestock – dairy
    • Livestock – beef
    • Livestock – goats
    • Livestock – pig
    • Poultry
    • Solar powered agriculture tools
    • Early warning systems
    • Climate resilient crop varieties
    • Food storage and preservation
    • Farmer training on adaptation techniques
    • Crop insurance services
    • Smart irrigation systems
    • Drip irrigation
    • Soil moisture sensors
    • Organic fertilizers
    • Bioenergy production and fossil fuels
    • Solar powered agricultural tools
    • Capacity building

Funding Information

• Support from FRP will include grants ranging from US$ 500,000 to US$ 2,500,000, disbursed over a 3-year period, based on the applicant’s development stage, scalability, and business model, in accordance with agreed periodic milestone targets. Funding structure will be determined on a case-by-case basis after evaluating proposals and organizations. Additional support to successful applicants will include tailored technical assistance in alignment with FRP objectives over the 3-year period.

Eligible Countries

• Benin, Burundi, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, an SME must:

• Be involved in the sector of focus i.e., agriculture.
• Be an existing for-profit Small or Medium-sized Enterprise.
• Be implementing business in at least one of the 20 focus countries in Africa.
• Be providing matching contribution of at least 30% of the total project cost.
• Have innovative, practical, and scalable businesses that aim to create work opportunities for young women and men, young people with disabilities or refugee youth.
• Adhere to fundamental human rights, labour standards, and environmental management laws, both nationally and internationally, including seed laws/policy.
• Refrain from any involvement in acts of terrorism or support for terrorist activities.

For more information, visit Mastercard Foundation Fund for Resilience and Prosperity.