IcanFarm – Kilimo ni Mali
The Problem: Access to affordable credit
Over 90% of the sub-Saharan Africa’s 48 million smallholder farmers lack access to formal credit.
Less than 6% of commercial loan recipients are smallholder farmers.
Source: FAQ
In Kenya, only about 10% of smallholder farmers have access to formal credit with women farmers receiving less than 5%.
The Solution
Affordable Credit:
The farmers access credit on input and production costs that is only recovered after successful sale of commodities and profit making. This is better than the 35% p.a being charged by MFIs.
Better returns for the sponsors:
The sponsors have the opportunity to earn up to 20% p.a on their investments which is much better than the 8% and 12% which banks and government bonds offer respectively.
Market Access
Farmers are guaranteed of selling their produce and the buyers have a consistent supply and good quality produce.