Belgian international development agency Enabel has mandated DID with supporting the financing of the pineapple value chain in Benin through a 3 year, $2 million project.
As part of the project, DID will help set up an entrepreneur financial centre (EFC) specializing in agricultural and commercial financing. This EFC will serve clients of RENACA, a decentralized financial system or SFD (the abbreviation used for inclusive finance institutions in Benin), one of DID’s partners in the country. DID will also support the rollout of financial services for 6 DID partner SFDs in the pineapple production area, by producing an agroeconomic fact sheet on this industry. Training will be developed to ensure SFDs understand the fact sheet, how to use it and the mechanisms required to update it.
DID will also develop training for loan officers to address pineapple industry financing needs. In addition, the project will bolster SFD capacity and drive the development of specialized products to support agricultural entrepreneurship and the modernization of SFD operations, particularly mobile collection of savings through digital channels. Lastly, a strategy to improve the visibility of financial services will be implemented to connect with and inform pineapple industry agro-entrepreneurs, as well as steer them toward appropriate financial services.