Lessons learned from sustainable agricultural value chain financing in Zimbabwe
This case study highlights how SNV helped create an enabling ecosystem for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through access to finance and business development services. SNV, with support from Hivos and other partners, established the Zimbabwe Agricultural Development Trust (ZADT) in the pursuit of their common objective of providing sustainable financial support to value chain actors. SNV also provided capacity development services to the banks to enable them provide development-friendly and sustainable financial products targeted at agricultural value chain actors. Despite some limiting factors, banks were able to generate business by developing the previously neglected segments such as agro dealers. Also, companies were able to do business with increased number of SMEs. Due to the success of this programme, SNV has handed over the Secretariat and is no longer playing a prominent role in the Zimbabwe Agricultural Development Trust.