WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE IMPACT INVESTMENT (WAII) FACILITY

The Women in Agriculture Impact Investment Facility (WAII) is a blended finance program that addresses challenges of access to finance for youth and Agri-SMEs across the East-African region using a gender lens approach. The facility seeks to empower youth and women by facilitating investment in inclusive business models that increase their leadership in business and engage women more in supply chains that offer income-generating opportunities to increase productivity and improve household livelihoods. Globally, female entrepreneurs struggle to access financial services due to lack of collateral (e.g. ownership of property), cultural restrictions, differing attitudes toward borrowing financing and limited access to affordable investment services or tailored technical assistance. Finding XY established the WAII Facility to accelerate early growth stage of SMEs investment using a blend of instruments and a gender lens approach through bridge financing cover and loan-discount approach using Covid-19 relief investment support.