The IREN AGRI initiative sets out to accelerate agricultural transition and financial inclusion across agricultural commodity chains in Africa, starting with Ivory Coast & West Africa. It is a partnership between the French banking group Societe Generale and Ksapa, a mission-driven corporation that provides scalable solutions to catalyze a fair and efficient transition through its SUTTI solution to transform agricultural first mile and improve smallholders livelihoods.

Rural communities are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis – from changes in temperatures to precipitation – and need mid to long-term financing to implement adaptation tools to protect agricultural land and food systems from the biggest shocks. At present, just 2% of the region’s small-scale agriculture finance needs are being met, with insecurity compounding the problem. Smallholders have unstable revenues, low use of digitalization and limited technical proficiency, factors which hamper their scope to strengthen operations and maximize their output to meet the needs of one of the region’s most crucial sectors.

The IREN AGRI Initiative aims to provide farmers and cooperative groups with an integrated solution combining best-in-class technical assistance, inclusive digitalization and access to affordable financing. It will mitigate risks by financing cooperatives and agri-SMEs directly, leaning on industrial partners off-take commitments and sustainable value creation. It will include disseminating best practices to improve and diversify production in line with successes met in other smallholder programs in various emerging and developing countries using Ksapa’s hybrid in-person & digital technical assistance SUTTI solution. IREN AGRI is well placed to resolve some of the existing issues because of Societe Generale’s local presence in Ivory Coast and Ksapa’s expertise in building multistakeholder coalitions. Indeed, the Initiative is already supported in its early stage by Ivoirian Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development and the French Ministry of Economy, and involves DFIs, NGOs, commodities buyers and researchers.

The demand for global smallholder finance stands at an estimated USD 450 billion. According to recent estimates from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), up to 20% of Africa’s population is undernourished and the UN has warned that one in five went hungry in 2023. Smarter investments in agricultural value chains are essential to adapt to climate change and improve and diversify rural communities’ revenues, if the continent is to meet its development objectives. Fostering access to financing will make farmers, cooperatives and agri-SMEs more resilient, help them transition towards sustainable agriculture and value untapped opportunities. It is of vital importance to sustain livelihoods and face climate challenges. IREN AGRI is a promising project which could fulfill some of the most ambitious financial reforms worldwide to date.