Project Description

The SASME project has the following components:

  • Component C1: improving access to finance for agricultural SMEs and small farmers,
    • C1A: Creation of the SASME Credit Fund, to be managed by an Agent Bank under the procedures of the Agriculture Development Program (ADP),
    • C1B: Set up a Trust Fund, as a Risk Sharing Mechanism, to allow for lending to SMEs or farmers with little or no collateral.
  • Component C2: Technical Assistance to key stakeholders in the lending and guarantee granting processes (C1A and C1B), to be implemented through a Financial PIU.
  • Component C3: Support to the Dairy and 17 Marine Aquaculture sectors
  • Component C4: TA to the National Project Coordination Unit NPCU

SOFRECO/NSCE is responsible for providing TA to the National Project Coordination Unit NPCU. The main overall objective is to support to agricultural growth and social inclusion in rural areas under severe environmental constraints. The operational objective is to provide credit to agricultural SMEs, together with a guarantee fund and technical assistance in specific sectors.

The 5 specific objectives are:

  • Increase agricultural lending;
  • Capacity building for key stakeholders in agricultural finance;
  • Leverage credit lending through a guarantee scheme;
  • Improvement of  the efficiency of the dairy sector and the marine aquaculture sector.
  • Improvement of  cross cutting issues: environmental impact, gender equality, poverty reduction and good governance.

Beneficiaries

The SASME Project targets SMEs in all agricultural sectors. Specific resources are allocated to the dairy and the aquaculture sectors but the Project is not limited to these two sectors. the Project will seek to finance smaller firms with traditionally limited access to finance, including individuals, cooperatives, NGOs, registered associations and rural women.