The Agriculture Fast Track (AFT) Fund is facilitating investments in agricultural infrastructure in Africa by lowering project preparation costs for AFT Grant Recipients.
Eligible Countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania.
About the Award: The AFT Fund is a multi-donor trust fund managed by the African Development Bank with funding support from the US government represented by USAID (US$ 12 million), the Danish Government represented by DANIDA (US$ 1.8 million) and the Swedish Government represented by SIDA (US$ 10 million). It was launched on 8 May 2013 with initial funding amounting to US$ 23.80 million. The AFT is housed at the Agriculture and Agro-Industry department (OSAN) of the African Development Bank.
The AFT will provide grant funding for the initial project development costs of a broad range of agriculture infrastructure projects spanning the entire value chain – from production to market. These can emanate from the private or public sector and from local or international businesses. The types of projects envisioned range from rural feeder roads to agro-processing and marketing facilities to out-grower schemes. The emphasis will be on projects that contribute to food security and support to smallholders.
Type: Entrepreneurship
Number of Awards: Not specified
Value of Program: US$ 23.8 million
Eligibility: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture sector, government agencies preparing agriculture infrastructure projects, non-governmental and civil society organizations such as farmer organizations and agriculture Fund Managers with clients seeking last mile financing or advisory services to formulate bankable agricultural development proposals.
Eligibility Screening: Applicants are required to answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ 6 to questions outlined in the Eligibility Screening. Only grant applicants who pass the Eligibility Screening will have access to the Concept Note Submission stage.
Selection: This stage is preceded by the Eligibility Screening stage. Applicants who pass the Eligibility Screening stage will have 2 weeks to submit a Concept Note through the grant application portal on this website. Applicants will be informed of the evaluation results of their Concept Notes within 4 weeks after the Concept Notes submission.
How to Apply: This is preceded by the Concept Note submission stage. Only applicants whose Concept Notes pass the selection criteria will be invited within 4 weeks to submit a Full Technical Application. Applicants will be informed of the evaluation results of their Full Technical Application within 6 weeks after the Full Technical Application submission.
Application Deadline: 16th May 2017
Award Providers: US government represented by USAID, the Danish Government represented by DANIDA and the Swedish Government represented by SIDA.