Pillar 1 To provide Business Development Services (BDS) and capacity building
A. BDS services to Smallholder Farmers, Women & Youth-Led Agribusinesses;
- Services targeted at both start-ups and growth oriented-businesses
- Training – business management, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, development of business plans, and funding proposals, gender mainstreaming, etc.
- Business Mentorship services pre- and post-accessing finance from financial institutions,
- Facilitating Market Linkages, Business to Business engagements, and linkages with Technical Assistance providers, Insurance, etc.
- Services help the target SHFs, women, youth and MSMEs businesses to employ good financial management and loan servicing which helps to build their track record and earn credibility with financial institutions.
- ZADT effectively assists in de-risking these target beneficiaries and to improve their bankability.
B. Services to Financial Institutions
- Sharing of useful business-related information and risks about smallholder farmers that assists partner financial institutions to better service the smallholder agriculture sector,
- We leverage our extensive knowledge in agricultural value chains and the clients to propose potential appropriate financial products,
- Liquidity support to pilot new products and initiatives targeted at rural farmers and related agribusinesses,
- Some of the products developed by ZADT piloted through financial institutions include Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and access to Clean Technology (ACT).
- The Pfumvudza/Intwasa project – no financial institution was prepared to fund the pilot project. ZADT in partnership with CBZ bank funded this initiative in Murehwa and Makoni districts in 2016 and 2017 to the tune of US$2 million. About 5,000 smallholder farmers benefitted in the two districts through accessing finance in-kind through grower-packs under the maize value chain. The model proved to be transformative, and it has now been adopted into a national program.
Pillar 2 – Provision of Financial Support
- ZADT partners with commercial banks and microfinance institutions to disburse funding
- ZADT disburses finance directly
