GOPA AFC

𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗨𝘇𝗯𝗲𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 🌿 Our Horticultural Value Chain Promotion Project in #Uzbekistan, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is making significant progress. With a USD 400 million credit line, we're supporting the development of the horticultural sector through partner financial institutions. We’ve teamed up with 4 partner banks and 1 leasing company to provide local currency loans at 14% per annum with up to a seven-year grace period. So far, over 1,900 loans have been disbursed! We also support 25 demo plots across the country to showcase modern horticultural methods. ✔️ Since the project began in August 2023, we’ve conducted more than 71 farms, farmers and agriculture enterprises trainings (1,230 farming sector participants trained), 21 trainings for financial institutions (564 banks staff trained), and 2 study tours to Poland and Italy. 🙌 For more details and updates, check the links in the comments. 👇🏽 #AFCFinDev #agfin Sigitas Bubnys, Sebastian Faryniarz, MetaMeta, GOPA Consulting Group

𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱: 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿-𝗟𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘀𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗮 Our consultants Jane Onoka and Suzanne Akulu Okao are currently in #Botswana, visiting the National Development Bank of Botswana (NDBB) to conduct a gender assessment. This is part of our effort to increase lending to #women by providing technical assistance to development finance institutions (DFIs). Our initiative supports NDBB, along with DFIs in Jamaica, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Tanzania. We focus on promoting gender-lens investing and improving monitoring frameworks to better serve women entrepreneurs. Our team is committed to advancing financial inclusion for women in Botswana.   “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘕𝘋𝘉𝘉’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴”, says Jane Onoka. The Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility is co-funded by the European Union, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the British Council. This initiative is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the British Council, Expertise France, and SNV. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 (𝘧𝘭𝘵𝘳): 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘦 (𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘕𝘋𝘉𝘉), 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘰𝘬𝘢 (𝘎𝘖𝘗𝘈 𝘈𝘍𝘊 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳), 𝘒𝘨𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘰 𝘛𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘦 (𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳), 𝘛𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘴𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘦 (𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘕𝘋𝘉𝘉), 𝘒𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰 𝘔𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘦 (𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳), 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘻𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘶 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘰 (𝘎𝘖𝘗𝘈 𝘈𝘍𝘊 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵). #AFCFinDev #genderfinance #financialinclusion Agnieszka Windel, Oliver Schmidt, MetaMeta, GOPA Consulting Group

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳𝗳-𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 ☀️🔋 Last week, we conducted hybrid trainings in #Nigeria and #BurkinaFaso for over 300 off-grid solar (OGS) companies from 13 project countries, all shortlisted for the ROGEAP full grant call for proposals. The training equipped solar companies with essential knowledge on full proposal forms, developing bankable business plans, and preparing financial plans. Other topics included accessing commercial funding, creating environmental and safety policies, and technical aspects like solar PV system design and maintenance. 🙌🏿 About 90% of participants now feel ready to respond to the ROGEAP grant call and seek additional funding to extend solar electricity to off-grid areas. 🙌🏿 This week, our experts Samuel Kojo Darko, Dr Emmanuel Odumusi, Aminata Cisse, and Issa Moussa will continue with business plan boot camps in Abuja and Ouagadougou. Seventy OGS companies from 13 countries, pre-selected for the annual business plan competition, will participate under the ECOWAS annual sustainable energy forum. We are implementing this The World Bank project in consortium together with intec - GOPA-International Energy Consultants. #AFCFinDev #greenfinance #solar Alex Nyamugira, Kephas M. INDANGASI, Elena Yunatska, MetaMeta, GOPA Consulting Group

𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗼 𝗣𝗗𝗥 Our team is working with local partners to boost financial inclusion and support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in #Laos. Here are our key accomplishments so far: ✅ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: we conducted sessions on value chain finance, green finance, and ESMS for staff of the Lao Access to Finance Fund (LAFF) and MSME Promotion Fund. ✅ 𝗣𝗙𝗜 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: we delivered green finance and ESMS training for 24 partner financial institutions. ✅ 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: we created a credit operational manual for the MSME Fund. ✅ 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀: we completed an in-depth study of the bamboo value chain and initial assessments of tea, coffee, cassava, and durian. ✅ 𝗟𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: we provided liquidity management training for LAFF and MSME Fund. This 18-month project (January 2024 - July 2025), funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is a predecessor to the larger “Sustainable Agrifood Systems Sector Project – SASSP” currently under development. We appreciate the strong cooperation from LAFF and MSME Fund and are on track to meet our goals. #AFCFinDev #MSMEfinance Jakob Lutz, Indrajith Wijesiriwardana, Keolabthavong Songsamayvong, Franck Caussin, MetaMeta, GOPA Consulting Group

5ème et dernière réunion du Comité de Pilotage du Programme AFAFI-SUD 🌱 La 5ème et dernière réunion du Comité de Pilotage (#COPILO) du Programme d’Appui au Financement de l'Agriculture dans le Sud et le Sud-Est de Madagascar (AFAFI-SUD), lancé en 2018 et financé par European Union, s’est tenue le 16 juillet 2024 à Fort Dauphin.  🎯 Objectif Principal : Évaluer les réalisations du projet #AFAFI-SUD et discuter des stratégies de pérennisation mises en place pour assurer la durabilité des résultats obtenus. Le 17 juillet, une visite de terrain riche et instructive a été organisée pour examiner différents sites de projets, incluant :  - 🌾 Un champ école paysan au Fokontany Maliovola  - 🏢 Un entrepôt de stockage à Ifarantsa  - 🛤️ Des travaux en cours sur le RIB 118  - 🚰 Un point d'eau à Ambatomainty  - 🌳 Un site de reboisement À cette occasion, nous tenons à exprimer notre sincère gratitude à toutes les parties prenantes, y compris les communautés locales, les autorités régionales, les partenaires techniques et financiers, et l'Union Européenne.   Merci à tous pour votre engagement continu et votre coopération. Salwa Haddad I GOPA Consulting Group #AFCAgri #Madagascar #AFAFISud 📸 Photos Crédit : Bureau d'Appui à la Coopération Extérieure/MEF (BACE)  

𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗮𝗷𝗶𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 In the 21st meeting of the Grant Committee under the Rural Economy Development The World Bank Project, it was reviewed 91 grant applications, focusing on Khatlon and Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, #Tajikistan. Key initiatives include improving public infrastructure like cultural centers and museums, constructing meat and dairy pavilions, and enhancing agricultural processing and craft development. These projects aim to boost local tourism and agribusiness, supporting hotels, homestays, art workshops, and teahouses. Since the project's launch, over 900 grant applications, totaling USD 10.7 m, were supported, benefiting farmers and rural small and medium enterprises. The demand has exceeded available funds, highlighting the project's significant impact on Tajikistan's vulnerable areas. Stay tuned as we share success stories from grant recipients in the coming weeks. #AFCFinDev #MSMEfinance Sigitas Bubnys, Nina Thurn, Sebastian Faryniarz, MetaMeta, GOPA Consulting Group

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮 Last week, our Managing Director Holger Christ and Deputy Director Sigitas Bubnys, visited #Kyrgyzstan to closely observe our Value Chain Agro Finance project, co-financed by European Union, KfW, and European Investment Bank (EIB). This initiative finances selected financial institutions and the farming sector, and enhances agricultural production quality, including food security testing laboratories. During their visit, Holger and Sigitas paid special attention to the State Laboratory of Disease Prevention, Sanitary, and Epidemiological Control. “𝘌𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘒𝘺𝘳𝘨𝘺𝘻𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦", Holger says. In addition, they visited #Uzbekistan to review the progress of our Horticulture Finance project, financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This project focuses on fostering the horticulture sector by providing financial support and enhancing agricultural practices. #AFCFinDev #AFCAgri #VCFinance #Agrifinance Mareike Decker, Victor Chiriac, Almaz Davletov, Sebastian Faryniarz, Iveta Pugajeva, MetaMeta, GOPA Consulting Group

𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝘇𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮 This week, our team organized an Executive Forum in Dar Es Salaam, for the leadership of Tanzania Commercial Bank (TCB) to advance their Agricultural Finance Strategy. Together with TCB's directors and senior management, we reviewed critical implementation steps to boost agricultural lending. Our experts will train TCB staff and support selected branches to expand their loan portfolio for agricultural SMEs. This effort directly aligns with TCB's mission to empower small and medium farmers in #Tanzania. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘊𝘉 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭”, says TCB's Director of Credit, Daniel Mbotto. With a network of 82 branches, TCB is committed to equipping its employees to provide effective agricultural loans. The impact is already evident in Kibondo, where cassava farmers are benefiting and even setting up small factories for export. #AFCFinDev #SMEfinance #Agrifinance Oliver Schmidt, David Odongo, Albert Mkongwa, ERICK CHRISPIN, Christopher Engelhardt, GOPA Consulting Group

𝙐𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚 - 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥: 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙎𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝘼𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙛𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 Since August last year, #Ukrainian farmers and processors have been able to obtain certification under the Ukrainian law on organic farming. The Food Safety Agency (FSA) of the Ukrainian oblasts plays an important role in controlling these organic farms. To support the representatives of the consumer protection authorities in this task, the "German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Farming (COA)" project, funded by the Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft held a second, multi-day practical training on organic farms.   For security reasons, the training was held this time in the Republic of Moldova with the participation of Marina Ilusca from the Moldovan Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and Tatjana Golban from the Moldovan Food Safety Agency were also present throughout the training. Both authorities are responsible for organic farming topics in the Republic of #Moldova.    The group was trained by Ksenia Guliyeva, Oksana Motrynchuk, Elisabeth Christine Rüegg Rüegg and @Stefan Dreesmann, Dr. All of these trainers have many years of experience in certification and control in organic farming. An organic farm, an organic mill and a large organic grain trader were chosen in Moldova for the practical training. Practical control was presented and practiced on these sites. In addition, various aspects of monitoring in organic farming were covered in more depth theoretically.    "I am very pleased that this second training was also carried out so successfully," said Dr. Stefan Dreesmann, head of the "German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Farming" project. "We have just had some very intensive days, during which the understanding of what to look out for during organic inspections by the Ukrainian authorities has grown. I would like to thank all participants in this training: the three Moldovan organic farms, the organic farming association MOVCA from Moldova, which supported us with many organizational matters, the experienced team of trainers, the translators, and especially the participants from FSA from the Ukrainian oblasts, who, once again contributed greatly to the successful conduct of this training," continued Dr. Dreesmann. "I am also very pleased that two official representatives of the Moldovan authorities responsible for organic farming accompanied the training throughout and that there was an intensive exchange of ideas between the Ukrainian and Moldovan authorities and the project," continued Dr. Dreesmann.    A third training course for the representatives of the Ukrainian FSA is planned for late autumn. For more information about the project please contact GOPA AFC´s Team leader or Project manager: Stefan Dreesmann, Dr. or Peter Hofmann GOPA Consulting Group MetaMeta #organic #AFCAgri

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 We are thrilled to announce that Philip Tameh is joining our FSD team as new Green Finance Project Manager! Originally from Cameroon, Philip obtained his bachelor's degree in Mathematics before moving to Germany to pursue a master’s degree in Quantitative Finance. His journey into the world of climate and sustainable finance began during an internship in Bonn with the UNFCCC, which ignited his passion for sustainability. Philip brings a wealth of experience from esteemed institutions such as the African Development Bank, Global Landscape Forum, and SLR Consulting. We are delighted to welcome him to our family and look forward to the innovative contributions he will bring to our projects. #AFCFinDev #AFClimate #greenfinance #team Holger Christ, Sigitas Bubnys, Jakob Lutz, Elena Yunatska, Alex Nyamugira, MetaMeta, GOPA Consulting Group