Agenda

05 Oct

3:15-4:15pm CET | ECOSYSTEM MAPPING AND FORESIGHT EXERCISE (PART 2): Thinking 'future' in relation to agri-SME finance and to SAFIN's evolving role

Part 2 of the exercise will continue after a short break.



2:00-3:00pm CET | ECOSYSTEM MAPPING AND FORESIGHT EXERCISE (PART 1): Thinking 'future' in relation to agri-SME finance and to SAFIN's evolving role

Facilitated by the School of International Futures (SOIF)

What does the agenda of agri-SME finance look like when seen not only in terms of today’s gaps, but also in terms of where food and agricultural systems need to be in ten years or beyond? How can we look at the current ecosystem to identify emergent (but under-developed) values and practices that would be more widely manifest in a preferred future? And what can that perspective bring to how we see our individual work and SAFIN’s role and value? This session will stimulate partners’ thinking about these questions through foresight techniques, exploring concepts including ‘s-curves’ and ‘seeds of change’. In addition to stimulating new ideas that partners can take back to their respective work, the session is expected to contribute to a joint reflection about the evolving role of SAFIN, which will continue into 2022.



1:30-2:00pm CET | INTRODUCTION AND ICEBREAKER

  • Welcome and introductory remarks - Ayodeji Balogun, CEO AFEX Commodities Exchange Ltd., Nigeria, and Chair of the SAFIN Steering Committee

  • Agenda overview - Bettina Prato, Senior Coordinator, SAFIN Secretariat

  • Small-group icebreaker activity



4:15-4:30pm CET | CLOSING SESSION

  • Reflections on the first day of plenary - Bettina Prato, Senior Coordinator, SAFIN Secretariat

  • Closing Remarks - Prasun Das, Secretary General, Asian-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA)



07 Oct

3:20-4:30pm CET | PARALLEL SESSION: New trends in the landscape of African Development Finance Institutions in agriculture

Co-led by the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), with a contribution from IFAD
Moderator: Ezra Anyango, Senior Program Officer, AGRA Panel:

  • Thomas Essel, Secretary General, AFRACA
  • Lone Felix, Manager Partnerships and Resource Mobilization, Program Manager ENABLE Youth Kenya, Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) Kenya
  • Taziona Chaponda, Managing Director, Malawi Agricultural and Industrial Investment Corporation Malawi (MAIIC)
  • Jean-Marc de Sousa-Shields, Lead Technical Specialist, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)



4:40-5:50pm CET | PARALLEL SESSION: Putting finance into action for agri-SMEs in the Caribbean - the Alliances for Action and the SAFIN Investment Prospectus Framework

Led by the International Trade Centre
Facilitator: Tommaso Ferretti, Phd Candidate, McGill University
Speakers:

  • Hernan Manson, Head of Inclusive Agribusiness, International Trade Centre (ITC)
  • Cindy Eugene, Marketing Specialist, Ministry of Commerce, St Lucia
  • Natalie Ruffin, Business Development Specialist, Grenada Investment Development Corporation (GIDC)
  • Paolo Silveri, Country Director for Grenada, Belize, and Haiti, IFAD



3:00-3:20pm CET | INTRODUCTION AND ICEBREAKER

  • Introduction and agenda overview - Bettina Prato, Senior Coordinator, SAFIN Secretariat

  • Small-group icebreaker activity



3:20-4:30pm CET | PARALLEL SESSION: Financing farmers' organizations and cooperatives - do we need dedicated investment vehicles?

Co-led by the Asian Farmers Association (AFA) and AFEX Commodities Exchange Ltd. Moderator: Juan Echanove, Senior Director, Food and Water Systems, CARE International Opening presentation: Frank Rubio, Senior Technical Advisor, IFAD Panel:

  • Balu Iyer, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, International Cooperative Alliance
  • Jose Romeo (Jojo) Ebron, Cooperative Development Program Manager, Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA)
  • Kathryn Hollifield, Program Manager, GAFSP Secretariat
Closing remarks:
  • Ayodeji Balogun, CEO, AFEX Commodity Exchanges Ltd., Nigeria, and Chair of the SAFIN Steering Committee
  • Esther Penunia, Secretary General, AFA



4:40-5:50pm CET: PARALLEL SESSION: Addressing gender equality in the portfolio of agri-SME impact lenders - some key lessons from experience and outstanding questions

Co-led by AgDevCo and Heifer International
Presenters and discussion leaders:

  • Jensyn Hallett, Director, Impact Capital, Heifer International
  • Mollie Liesner, Impact Manager, AgDevCo



5:50-6:00pm CET | CLOSING SESSION

Closing remarks

  • Bettina Prato, Senior Coordinator, SAFIN Secretariat
  • Member of the SAFIN Steering Committee



06 Oct

2:20-3:20pm CET | SESSION 1: Connecting global providers of green finance for agriculture to local financial intermediaries targeting agri-SMEs

Local providers of financial services are key players in the agri-SME space, but many of them are poorly connected to international sources of green finance – including institutional sources (e.g. Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund or Adaptation Fund) and private investors. However, new models are emerging that bring together different partners and linkages for the deployment of green finance in food and agriculture, with the promise of achieving greater efficiency, as well as scale and depth of impact. In this participatory session, the audience will be invited to share thoughts and experiences alongside a small expert-panel based on the presentation of a case study by Gold Standard.
Facilitator: Evan Girvetz, Principal Scientist and Global Program Leader, Finance and Investments for Climate Action, CGIAR
Case study presentation:

  • Felicity Spors, Head of Climate and Sustainable Finance, Gold Standard
  • Dorothée Herr, Manager, Ocean and Climate Change, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)



3:30-4:30pm CET | SESSION 2: Developing partnerships across the science and investor communities for agri-SME-oriented green finance

Partnerships between scientists/researchers and investors can be critical ingredients in the design of investment structures and transactions that deploy green finance in ways that deliver robust and measurable impact. Scientists and investors often speak different languages and have different priorities and ways of operating. There is great need to look at successful models of partnership to understand what the key success factors are and how these models can be adapted and replicated. This session will feature a case study presenting the innovative partnership between Alliance/CGIAR and responsAbility to launch the first science-based impact investment fund targeting food systems transformation at scale. The case study presentation will lead to a facilitated discussion with a small panel and participants. Facilitator: Steffen Entenmann, Head of Programme, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)
Case study presentation:

  • Mauricio Benitez, Sectorial Specialist, responsAbility
  • Godefroy Grosjean, Climate Action, Global Leader Advisory Services, CGIAR
Panel:
  • Victoria Sabula, Chief Executive Officer, African Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)
  • Morgana Bourggraff, Senior Board Advisor, Innpact



4:40-5:40pm CET | SESSION 3: Key questions for follow up research and learning

Part 3 of the workshop will allow participants to discuss and align around priority questions for further exploration related to partnerships for the effective mobilization and deployment of green finance for agri-SME investments. The session will include small-group facilitated brainstorming sessions to prioritize questions and identify possible avenues or approaches to learning, followed by a summary and conclusions in plenary.
Introduction: Michael von During, Technical Specialist, SAFIN Secretariat
Breakout Room 1
Thematic focus: Defining what is considered ‘green’ in partnership-led initiatives
Facilitator: Andreea Nowak, Climate Change Adaptation Research Associate, World Agroforestry (ICRAF) and the CGIAR Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Breakout Room 2
Thematic focus: Aligning metrics and reporting systems in green finance partnerships
Facilitator: Richard Newman, Senior Sustainable Finance Specialist, CGIAR
Breakout Room 3
Thematic focus: Determining bankability criteria in project origination
Facilitator: Tamer El-Raghy, Managing Director, Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF)



2:00-2:20pm CET | INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME REMARKS

  • Welcome remarks – Bettina Prato, Senior Coordinator, SAFIN Secretariat
  • Introduction to the SAFIN learning agenda on green finance and to the workshop – Michael von During, Technical Specialist, SAFIN Secretariat, and Godefroy Grosjean, Climate Action, Global Leader Advisory Services, CGIAR



5:40-5:50pm CET | CLOSING SESSION

  • ​​​​​​Closing remarks: Eduardo Tugendhat, Leader, Natural Resources Financing Hub, Palladium