European Union (EU) —AgriFI Kenya Challenge Fund

The AgriFI Kenya Challenge Fund is looking to award an indicative amount of EUR 18,000,000 to agri-enterprises as financial support. The funds will be allocated through three (3) separate calls for proposals. This second call will allocate up to approximately EUR 8,000,000.

The AgriFI Kenya Challenge Fund is aiming to support projects put forward by small and medium sized agri-enterprises with business models that are integrating smallholder farmers/pastoralists into value chains. The agri-enterprises need to demonstrate how they are benefitting smallholder farmers/pastoralists. This may be through the establishment of a new activity¹ or expansion of existing activities in specific or all nodes of the value chain.

Size of financial support

Any financial support requested from AgriFI Kenya Challenge Fund in the second call must fall within the following range:

• Minimum amount: Euro 200,000
• Maximum amount: Euro 750,000

The Challenge Fund will award financial support to cover a maximum of 50% of the total value of the proposal. The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the proposal and the amount requested as financial support) must be financed from matching funds in the form of cash/cash equivalents, credit or equity from external financiers. In cases where applications are made by consortia the match fund contributions can be provided by any of the consortia members.

The financial support will require match funding from the agri-enterprise making the application. The match funding may be through own resources available to the agri-enterprise or may be sourced through external finance such as credit or external equity investment. Match funding can also come from co-applicants. 

The European Investment Bank (EIB), under the same AgriFI Kenya programme, is providing long term local currency financing to Equity Bank (Kenya) Limited for on-lending to eligible food and agriculture sector projects. This facility is also available for match funding to the applicants. 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1. Must be duly incorporated in Kenya as a company or a cooperative;
2. Must be compliant with all national and local laws and regulations including but not limited to tax regulation, health and safety and environmental standards;
3. Must be a for-profit entity; not-for-profit organizations and government bodies are not eligible to apply as lead applicants. However, they can contribute to projects as co-applicants;
4. Must be willing and able to contribute at least 50% of the project cost through a blend of cash and cash equivalents, credit or equity from own or third-party sources;
5. Must provide evidence in the project proposal of current or future integration of smallholder farmers/pastoralists in existing or new value chain(s) in the project’s areas;
6. The business must have at least three (3) years of uninterrupted operations in Kenya with focus on eligible actions under the AgriFI Kenya Challenge Fund programme;
7. Must have an average yearly turnover for the last three years in the range of EUR 200,000 to EUR 50,000,000.
8. Must have an asset base of less than EUR 43,000,000 (balance sheet total);
9. Must have audited accounts for the three (3) most recent years. The audited accounts should have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards by ICPAK accredited accountant.

Application Process

The applicant agri-enterprises will need to submit a project concept note (PCN). The application form will be accessed through the on-line platform AfriCUBE which allows the applicant to register and submit concept notes. Applicants will be able to download the application questions from the website www.agrifichallengefund.org  for offline understanding of details and preparation. Each window will be open for a minimum of 30 days. The PCN will require applicants to outline:

• The applicant profile and partners;
• The project description: How the project addresses and contributes to the challenge;
• Expected social and environmental impact as a result of the project;
• Sustainability and need for financial support funding;
• Estimated budget and outline of match-funding sources (which must be 50-70% of the project budget).

Deadline: 31st July 2019 at 12.00pm EAT.