Program Design
HORUS supports International Financial Institutions, governments, supervisory bodies and central banks in designing programs aimed at promoting the development of inclusive financial products, as well as regulatory measures adapted to the microfinance sector.
We carry out sector-based studies, assess identified gaps, and design programs aimed at improving access to financial services and financial intermediation.
Focus
Designing an Agricultural Finance development program
Our Experience
Pre-feasibility study for a project to support access to financial services for small-scale farmers and rural and agro-enterprises in Zambia (AFD, ZNFU, 2015).
Under a joint project between the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), HORUS carried out a pre-feasibility study to characterize the scope, objectives and implementation requirements of a program to support access to financial services for small-scale farmers and rural and agro-enterprises. In particular, we carried out:
- An analysis of small-scale farmers and rural and agro-enterprises’ access to financial services: an assessment of needs and obstacles, for end beneficiaries as well as for the financial services providers, and of other target-similar financial inclusion initiatives.
- Project design:
- Definition and typology of the project end-beneficiaries and eligibility criteria
- Services offered to the project end-beneficiaries: nature, terms and conditions of financial and non-financial services
- Stakeholders and project financing scheme: credit lines to banks and MFIs, grant funding for end-beneficiaries, financial institutions, ZNFU and other stakeholders, and support to existing risk-sharing mechanisms
- Project targets and overall budget.
Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for a warehouse receipt finance program in Burkina Faso (KfW, 2015).
KfW selected HORUS to analyze the potential for developing large-scale warehouse receipt finance schemes in Burkina Faso, in preparation for a possible program to be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
Building on the results of the pre-feasibility study, KfW also nominated HORUS to conduct the feasibility study. We provided the following services:
- Review of previous provision of warehouse receipt financing in Burkina Faso (community-based schemes and commercial schemes) and international experience
- Analysis of constraints and opportunities for the development of large-scale warehouse receipt finance schemes on ten pre-identified value chains
- Analysis of the legal and regulatory framework
- Analysis of the financial offer to the agricultural world
- Proposals for financial mechanisms and for the implementation of a certification system for warehouses, their managers and for products
- Definition of support measures for industry players
- Definition of the institutional, organizational and logical frameworks of the project
- Budget and work plan.
Pre-feasibility study for an agricultural and rural finance program and proposals for new approaches to rural finance for the German Cooperation in Benin (KfW, 2015).
HORUS was commissioned by KfW to validate the opportunity of a project to support agricultural and rural sector financing, in conjunction with the Green innovation centers project to be set up by GIZ. The study notably examined:
- The capacity and willingness of the financial sector to extend its offer to the rural and agricultural world
- Agricultural value chain MSMEs’ financial services needs
- The related public and private support initiatives.
On this basis, we:
- Identified the obstacles to development of financial services to agriculture
- Analyzed the potential for cooperation between a future project and existing KfW and GIZ projects
- Proposed intervention strategies for a rural finance promotion program, and designed a recap table of constraints, risks and mitigating measures.
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