Completed Project: Accelerating Lending to Food & Agri sector in East Africa Supply Chain Financing

Factoring, as a form of supply chain finance, can play a critical role in injecting much-needed short-term liquidity into value chains. The demand for factoring services, which support producers and traders in scaling their activities, nevertheless remains largely unmet in many developing countries. Since 2015, FACTS has worked to address this gap by providing factoring services to SMEs in Kenya and Uganda.

In 2018, the CFC and FACTS East Africa B.V. signed a USD 1.2 million loan agreement to support and scale FACTS’ impact on agricultural value chain participants. FACTS continued servicing its portfolio of clients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with the support of shareholders and creditors.

Following the CFC investment, FACTS sig­nificantly expanded its outreach and impact across agricultural value chains in Kenya and Uganda. The project reached more than 34,000 smallholder beneficiaries, with strong gender inclusion, particularly in Uganda where female participation was high. Smallholder incomes improved meaningfully, with average household income in Kenya increasing to ap­proximately USD 350 and significantly higher gains observed in Uganda, driven by diversifi­cation and the adoption of irrigation.

Land utilization and productivity also improved, with more than 10,000 hectares financed in Kenya and notable increases in income per hectare, particularly for higher-value crops such as coffee. The project contributed to substantial job creation by generating direct and indirect employment opportunities in Kenya, as well as additional income opportunities in Uganda through expanded farming activities. Overall, the financing acted as a catalyst for enhancing financial inclusion, strengthening rural livelihoods, and ena­bling more resilient and diversified income streams across both countries.

SDGs