Matching Grant Fund: Building Stronger Businesses and More Connected Agricultural Value Chains
Matching facilities are often understood as co-financing mechanisms designed to support collaborative projects. However, the Matching Grant Fund (MGF) under the Business Support Facility for Resilient Agricultural Value Chains (BSF4RAVC) goes a step further. Rather than focusing solely on financial contributions, it is designed as a growth accelerator for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), agricultural producer organisations and off-takers across the value chain.
The MGF supports businesses in improving their competitiveness and adapting to changing market demands. It also combines financial support with technical assistance and Business Development Services (BDS), enabling operations, strategic business decisions and a long-term vision.
Today, the MGF connects 42 SMEs across 17 OACPS countries contributing to stronger, interlinked and efficient agricultural value chains across Africa.
Building the Foundations for Growth
For many SMEs, becoming more competitive begins with strengthening the way their businesses operate. Through the MGF, enterprises are addressing practical challenges related to management, production efficiency, sustainability and market access.
In Ghana, Josaco, is using the support of the MGF to increase its cashew production while exploring innovations like beekeeping, which contributes to improved pollination and supports higher cashew yields.
Across the continent, other SMEs are taking advantage of the MGF opportunity to strengthen their own business models and respond to sector challenges.
In Côte d’Ivoire, SCOOPS Houkabe has consolidated its production base by expanding farmer outreach and training activities while professionalizing its accounting systems. In Nigeria, FoodPro has increased the quality of the raw cashew nut delivered through closer relationships with producers and sustainable farming practices.
Essoh Hamza, from the Union Régionale des Coopératives de Producteurs d’Anacarde de l’Atacora Donga (URCPA AD) in Benin states: “The MGF is a beneficial initiative that acts as a lever for the growth of our businesses and producer organisations and therefore contributes to the sustainability of agricultural value chains, particularly in the local context in which we operate.”
From Individual Progress to Collective Learning
While strengthening individual businesses is at the heart of the MGF, collaboration and knowledge exchange are equally important drivers of long-lasting results.
This was the focus of two regional workshops held in Benin and Kenya, where 41 MGF-supported companies joined technical experts, financial specialists, business development consultants and accounting firms. The workshops provided a platform for participants to share experiences, discuss common challenges and identify solutions that could be adapted to different business contexts.
Discussions focused on key areas shaping the future of the cashew sector, including value addition, sustainability practices, carbon credits, digitalisation, beekeeping, cashew apple valorisation and certification systems such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and organic standards.
For Bastian Domke, Director of Private Sector Development at GIZ/MOVE-ComCashew, “It was essential to bring together technical and financial teams, business development consultants and accounting firms, ensuring that everyone involved is aligned and contributing to the success of the Matching Grant Fund.”
Beyond technical exchanges, the workshops created opportunities for entrepreneurs to identify common interests, build relationships and explore new forms of cooperation.
Creating Opportunities Across Borders
One such exchange quickly developed into a promising business opportunity. During the workshop, a Tanzanian cashew producer and a Kenyan processor discovered that their businesses could complement each other: the Tanzanian company could provide raw cashew nuts, while the Kenyan processor had the capacity to add value and was looking for a reliable supply source.
What started as a conversation between participants evolved into the foundation of a cross-border partnership. John Joseph Nkundwanabake of Akros Limited, from Tanzania, quickly saw the benefits of such a cooperation:
“Kenya and Tanzania share a border. When there is demand, a supplier can deliver to the processor quickly and receive payment shortly afterwards. Shipping a container to Europe, by comparison, can take between 40 and 60 days. For a business with limited capital, that can be a major constraint. Regional cooperation is faster, traceable and easier to finance.”
A Network for Long-Term Growth
The programme MGF is creating a network of SMEs that can continue exchanging knowledge, developing partnerships and creating new opportunities beyond the programmes end.
“The projects are generating best practices that can be transferred, adapted and scaled across regions. MGF initiatives are already being used in South–South and North–South exchange formats”, states Beate Weiskopf, Programme Manager at GIZ/MOVE-Comcashew.
By combining investment, business development support, peer learning and regional connections, the Matching Grant Fund is helping SMEs move towards sustainable growth. A total of €8.4 million have mobilized to equip the European Union and the German Development Ministry (BMZ), SMEs to innovate, collaborate and compete within Africa’s cashew sector.
The Matching Grant Fund is implemented under the Joint Action Business Support Facility for Resilient Agricultural Value Chains (BSF4RAVC). The initiative is co-funded by the European Union under the Samoa Agreement with the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is implemented by GIZ through the MOVE-ComCashew programme
Author: Valerie Toffey
