Catalytic Capital | January 22, 2020

IDH raises €100 million to catalyze smallholder farmer finance

Amy Cortese
ImpactAlpha Editor

Amy Cortese

ImpactAlpha, Jan. 22 – Some 270 million smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America produce over 70-80% of the world’s food. Yet they lack access to capital.

At Davos, Netherlands-based IDH announced its €100 million FarmFit fund will take high-risk positions in investments that help farmers invest in their farms and boost resilience and productivity. The fund, which will take the first losses in such investments, is supported by a $250 million loss-guarantee facility from USAID.

By de-risking smallholder finance, the fund “will enable banks and financial institutions to make sound impact investments now – and help support sustainable smallholder farming while mitigating the impact of climate change,” said IDH’s Joost Oorthuizen.

The FarmFit fund has also received significant backing from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It complements IDH’s existing FarmFit offerings, including business support and data-driven insights for smallholders.