The Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF) Releases its 2019 State of the Sector Report

As one of the latest initiatives being incubated at GDI, the Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF) convenes 12 of the world’s leading agricultural small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) lenders to share learning, identify best practices, and develop industry standards. CSAF members seek to create a thriving, sustainable, and transparent market to serve the financing needs of agricultural SMEs in low- and middle-income countries. To drive this market forward, each year, CSAF releases an annual report drawing upon data and insights from the portfolios of the 12 financial institutions.

In their just-released 2019 State of the Sector report, CSAF examines how lenders have responded to increased risk in their portfolios after a period of growth and diversification, and shares their outlook on what is required to expand the finance market for agricultural SMEs and align market growth with social and environmental impact. CSAF also shares the latest on a new initiative being incubated by GDI that will launch in early 2020, Aceli Africa.