1. What is the eligibility criteria for Agri-SMEs?

i) Your business should have a minimum turnover of USD 100k.
ii) Have female representation at ownership, board, management or across your value chain.
iii) Your business should have been in existence for at least 2 years.
iv) Should be seeking to raise above USD 50K in debt or equity investment.
v) Should have operations in Southwestern Region: Isingiro, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale, Rubanda, Kisoro, Kanungu, Rukungiri, Mitooma, Sheema, Bushenyi, Buhweju, Rubirizi, Ibanda, Kamwenge, and Kasese; Mount Elgon area/EasternRegion: Kapchorwa, Bulambuli, Sironko, Bududa, Mbale, Manafwa and Tororo; Karamoja Sub Region: Kaabong, Kotido, Abim, Napak, Moroto, Nakapiripirit and Amudat; and parts of Northern Region: Lamwo, Amuru, Gulu, Nwoya, Omoro, Oyam, Kole, and Lira.
vi) Should be registered as a private company limited by shares or guarantees.
vii) Have audited statements for at least 2 years.

2. What is a female-led Agri- SME?

A female-led enterprise has at least 30% representation of women at the decision-making level, operations, or control. It could also mean that an Agri-Sme has a representation of at least 50% women across the value chain. The WAII facility targets Agri-SMEs that have a representation of women and youth, including persons with disabilities and refugees. WAII seeks to achieve equity rather than mere equality for these groups in both the business and investment space.

3. Which regions or districts are considered eligible for WAII?

Southwestern Region: Isingiro, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale, Rubanda, Kisoro, Kanungu, Rukungiri, Mitooma, Sheema, Bushenyi, Buhweju, Rubirizi, Ibanda, Kamwenge, and Kasese;

Mount Elgon area/Eastern Region: Kapchorwa, Bulambuli, Sironko, Bududa, Mbale, Manafwa and Tororo
Karamoja Sub Region: Kaabong, Kotido, Abim, Napak, Moroto, Nakapiripirit and Amudat
Parts of Northern Region: Lamwo, Amuru, Gulu, Nwoya, Omoro, Oyam, Kole, and Lira

4. What is the application process?

a. Simply e-register your Agri-SME by filling this Application Form
b. Upon receiving your expression of interest, our team will reach out and guide you on the next steps, within 5 working days.

5. Can an Agri-SME ask for an NDA before submitting its documentation?

Yes

6. How long does it take for an SME to know that they have qualified for the WAII programme?

1. After expressing interest to the facility, the Finding XY team will reach out directly to your Agri-Sme to request for company documents within 5 working days to aid the initial screening or preliminary assessment procedure.
2.  If your enterprise is successfully pre-screened, a first engagement call will be scheduled between a representative/representative of your Agri-Sme and the Finding XY team to enable us understand your business growth journey and fundraising plans better.
3. The finding XY team will also communicate to applicants that were unsuccessful in the initial screening procedure on the next steps, with-in 10 working days.
4. If an Agri-Sme is considered eligible for the WAII facility after the engagement call by the appraisal committee, on-site due diligence will be conducted to further assess the Agri-SME’s social, economic and governance standing to determine it’s eligibility for the program and identify capacity gaps.
5. After the on-site due diligence, the Finding XY team will communicate to both successful and unsuccessful candidates on the next steps within 15 working  days.

7. What are the benefits of the programme to an Agri-SME?

Successful businesses will benefit from:

• Low-cost Investment from Impact Investors. Minimum USD 50,000 and above.
• Tailored business advisory and Deal closure support with our expert team.
• New partnerships and network growth.

8. How does low-risk capital financing work?

WAII deploys two blended finance approaches:
I. Bridge Financing Cover: Under this approach, the WAII facility covers a percentage of interest that accrues to a loan over a period of 2 – 8 months at the beginning of the loan tenure. The cover provided will be USD 10,000 per female-led agribusiness.

Example:
If an Agri-SME gets a loan of USD 100,000 at an interest rate of 18%per annum, the COVID Risk Capital will be used to pay USD 10,000 of interest in the first year so that the outstanding is 8% (the interest rate will be dependent on the financial institution).

II. Loan-Discount approach: To reduce both the risk of default as well as the cost of finance for the enterprise, under this approach the facility offers beneficiary agri-SMEs COVID-19 RiskCapital to discount up to USD 10,000 per enterprise on the principal loan value. The assumption is that this reduces the risk for the financial institution and reduces the cost of borrowing for the enterprise.

Example:
If an enterprise gets a loan of USD 50,000 from an investor, Finding XY will use the COVID Risk Capital of USD 10,000 to reduce the outstanding loan amount
immediately upon loan approval. That means that the Agri-SME will be left with a debt of USD 40,000 on the principal.

9. Does an Agri-SME get any training on how to scale?

Finding XY, under the WAII facility offers tailored business advisory for investment readiness and business training to improve operations through the catalyzer and accelerator training to growth stage and scalable Agri-SMEs. Before any deal closure, we ensure that your Agri-SME is investor-ready, and after the investment, we offer post-investment accelerator support.

10. How much should one pay to be part of the training?

The business advisory is FREE for the selected WAII agri-SMEs under this facility.

11. What if my Agri-SME doesn’t have collateral, will it be considered for
financing?

Agri-SMEs seeking equity investment do not require collateral. We however recommend that the Agri- SMEs looking to absorb debt investment have sufficient collateral. Nonetheless, other financing approaches may be considered depending on the Investor that would like to invest in your Agri-SME.

12. Can WAII provide guarantees for Agri-SMEs without collateral?

The WAII facility doesn’t offer guarantees for any Agri-SME.

13. If I started my company two years ago, but only kept financial statements for one year or less, would I still qualify for WAII?

A review of the available financial statement by our advisory team will inform our decision on the next steps and your Agri-SME will be notified accordingly.