Innovative Finance
The annual unmet financing needs across agrifood systems are enormous, particularly for small-scale farmers, small and medium enterprises and farmer organizations in developing countries. These amounts do not even include the additional funding needed each year to sustainably transform the world’s agrifood systems.
Innovative financing solutions – such as impact investing, fintechs, blended finance, other de-risking instruments and carbon finance – can help bridge that gap.
The FAO Investment Centre’s advisory team supports partners like the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank to do more and better in the agrifood lending sphere.
FAO’s portfolio of climate-related financing projects is also growing, as are efforts to align investments and planning with the Paris Agenda, helping countries and financiers meet their climate commitments.
The Centre is working with countries and partners to close the digital divide and introduce more digital solutions – like fintechs, mobile payments, weather-based insurance – that can make a difference in the agrifood sector, especially for small-scale producers.
Initiatives
Latest stories
Climate Finance: an instrument for sustainable agrifood system transformation in Sierra Leone
05/08/2024
Agrifood systems are highly vulnerable to climate change. Accessing climate finance can help transition to more climate-resilient agricultural practices...
Investment Toolkits
New toolkit shows how to empower smallholders through transparent microfinance practices
16/07/2024
Interest rates have been a contentious issue in microfinance for many years. While higher interest rates for microloans are often justified by the underlying...
Investment Centre welcomes new head of West and Central Africa Service
08/02/2024
The Investment Centre is strengthening its ability to respond to the growing and evolving needs of countries and investors. Alessandro Marini, who recently...
A chat with the Investment Centre’s Service Chief for East and Southern Africa
23/01/2024
Giovanni Munoz, the Investment Centre's Service Chief for East and Southern Africa, reflects on a long career in the agriculture sector, his vision...
Latest publications
FAO Investment Centre - 2023 at a glance
07/2024
FAO, through its Investment Centre, works with partners to provide tailored, scalable investment and finance solutions to help countries achieve better, more sustainable outcomes. This latest edition looks at the Centre’s achievements in 2023 while also identifying priority areas for the coming years.
Understanding microfinance interest rates in agrifood
07/2024
Interest rates have been a contentious issue in microfinance for many years. While higher interest rates for microloans are often justified by the underlying costs of making small loans in rural areas, this is not always the case.
Pathways to profit - Experimental evidence on agricultural technology adoption
10/2023
This brief focuses on the profitability of adopting technology for farmers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and examines the financial sustainability of these investments over time. The evidence presented here can help researchers and policymakers better understand farmer characteristics and favourable conditions for technology adoption, identify constraints inhibiting adoption, and draw lessons to replicate or scale successful policies around technology adoption in agriculture.
FAO Investment Centre - 2022 at a glance
03/2023
FAO is committed to helping countries achieve a healthier, more sustainable future. That means finding the right combination of policies, innovations and public and private investment to help them realize the promise of the four betters – better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all.
Evolution of food e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic
03/2023
This investment brief, prepared by FAO and commissioned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) hones in on...