Tanzania appreciates CFC’s call for more resources for smallholders and SMEs
Amb. Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities, received H.E. Ms. Caroline Kitana Chipeta, Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania to the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the CFC Secretariat in Amsterdam. Ambassador Chipeta was accompanied by Mr. Benedict T. Msuya, First Secretary of the Embassy of Tanzania, The Hague. They discussed the activities of the Common Fund for Commodities as well as ways that of their future cooperation between Tanzania and CFC at this challenging time of COVID-19 pandemic aftermath and war in Ukraine.
Following an introductory presentation on CFC, Ambassador Belal briefed the delegation on the current discrepancy between CFC’s financing resources and the increased demand for CFC investment. CFC MD elaborated on how CFC is overwhelmed with the demand for its services and as such, would like to see greater support infrastructure so that CFC could live up to the expectation of the member countries.
Ambassador Belal also shared information on the Agricultural Commodity Transformation (ACT) Fund (formerly referred to as ‘CIIF’), which was launched at the LDC5 Conference in Doha on 5 March 2023, designed to enable CFC to contribute more for alleviation of poverty. As the ACT Fund is now formed, member countries are welcome to join this impact investment fund as anchor investors as well as recommending the same to the private sectors in their country and network.
Ambassador Chipeta appreciated the CFC for taking the initiative of launching this ACT Fund and assured to support it through necessary coordination with all member states. She further appreciated for the good work of the CFC and hoped that further collaboration could be explored in the days to come. Ambassador Chipeta stated that CFC’s investment model of SME-smallholder nexus is what the world need at this challenging time and hope that CFC would continue to highlight the plights and challenges of the smallholders and SMEs so that world come forward with more support for them. Ambassador Chipeta considers that more resources should be made available for the smallholders and SMEs in the developing world and urged CFC to speak for them as loudly as they can.
Ambassador Chipeta assured to disseminate CFC’s Call for proposals as well as success stories to the concerned in her country. Ambassador Chipeta expressed their desire to see more investments from CFC to Tanzania and assured their government’s support for the CFC in its drive to do more for the people of Africa and beyond.
Ambassador Belal assured to pursue more innovative outreaches in the days to come to make the services of CFC available to as many people as possible in the commodity dependent developing world, with a heightened sense of innovations and creativity.