FASA Makes Its First Investment and Secures New Funding to Support Agri-SMEs in Africa

FASA (“Financing for Agri-SMEs in Africa”) has just made its first investment by committing $5 million to Catalyst Fund, a pan-African venture capital fund supporting entrepreneurs developing solutions to help communities adapt to the growing impacts of climate change, including droughts, extreme weather and food insecurity. This initial commitment helped attract additional public and private investors, allowing Catalyst Fund to reach $30 million in committed capital today.

This first investment marks an important step for FASA. Managed by a team based in four offices (Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, and France), FASA has already received over 100 fund applications at various stages of maturity and built an advanced pipeline of around 20 eligible funds across four main asset classes – early-stage SME funds, growth SME funds, venture capital, and debt vehicles.

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New funding to support agricultural SMEs in Africa

At the same time, France recently announced its decision to join the FASA initiative, joining Norway, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. France’s commitment is accompanied by interest from the agro-industrial private sector, with several groups active in Africa—members of the ALFA association—having already expressed their interest in contributing to FASA to increase the capital available for African agriculture.

This commitment will help increase the investment and technical assistance available for African agriculture, create synergies with existing French cooperation projects on the continent, and help mobilize private capital for agri-SMEs. 

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