2020 Investor Summit: Bridging demand and supply of private investment capital for SMEs
CASA EVENT
2020 Investor Summit: Bridging demand and supply of private investment capital for SMEs
The aim of the panel was to discuss alternative strategies used by investors and development actors to bridge the risk and reward gap of investing in agri-SMEs, as well as the available supply of investment ready agri-SMEs. The session explored different mechanisms used to identify investment ready agri-SMEs, as well as different models of agri-SME financing and technical assistance. The discussion were framed around research conducted by CASA explored by a diverse panel, including investors and investment support stakeholders.
The Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme supports the commercial and development case for investing in agribusinesses that source produce from smallholders in the global South. The summit is designed to provide communities of investors opportunities to reflect on issues affecting the viability and growth of agri-businesses. This year’s inaugural summit focuses on three research reports commissioned by the CASA programme. In addition to the researchers, the three sessions will also feature agribusinesses on the virtual panels reflecting on lessons learnt by them and their peers. The platform for the Summit supports the AGRF Deal Room and will facilitate active networking amongst participants.
| Timing (GMT) | Speaker | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 14.30 | Welcome by Alice Chapple UK |
Introduction to CASA and CASA’s Investor Summit at AGRF’s Deal Room |
| 14.34 | Prof Thomas Jayne, Michigan State University USA |
Presentation of research, main findings and recommendations |
| 14.46 | Julia Wakeling, Silverstreet Capital LLP South Africa |
The moderator will introduce each speaker before they speak. |
| 15.30 | Alice Chapple | Questions from the audience and rap-up of key takeaways |
SPEAKERS
Prof. Thomas Jayne
Tom Jayne is University Foundation Professor of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University. He is a Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and a Distinguished Fellow of the African Association of Agricultural Economists. His works span numerous topics, including food marketing and price policies, changes in land use patterns, sustainable intensification, employment, and rural transformation. He has mentored dozens of young African professionals and played a major role in building MSU’s partnerships with African agricultural policy research institutes. Thom is Adjunct Professor at the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute in Lusaka, Zambia, a board member of the Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes in Eastern and Southern Africa, and was a founding Co-Director of the Alliance for African Partnership at Michigan State University. In 2017, he became the Flagship Co-Leader of the CGIAR Policies, Institutions and Markets research program on Economy-wide Factors Affecting Agricultural Growth and Rural Transformation. In 2019, Jayne is seconded to the African Development Bank, serving as Special Advisor to the President. Over the past decade, he has received six research excellence awards, including the 2009 Outstanding Article Award in Agricultural Economics and the 2017 AAEA Bruce Gardner Memorial Prize for Applied Policy Analysis.
Julia Wakeling
Julia oversees the management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, and the monitoring and reporting of the impact of Silverstreet Capital’s investments. SilverStreet Capital is a UK based investment advisor managing African agricultural funds. Its objectives are to achieve a positive long term social impact whilst making attractive returns for investors. Silverlands I is the largest Sub-Saharan African agricultural fund. SilverStreet Capital invests across the agricultural value chain, including the seed sector, primary production, processing, storage and trading in six countries in Southern and East Africa.
Timothy Strong
Tim is the Head of Agriculture Finance at Opportunity International. Opportunity International provides microfinance loans, savings, insurance and training to over 14.3 million people who are working their way out of poverty in the developing world. Clients in 24 countries use these financial services to start or expand a business, provide for their families, create jobs for their neighbors and build a safety net for the future. Their vision is a world in which all people have the opportunity to achieve a life free from poverty, with dignity and purpose.
His previous roles at Opportunity International included Director of Operations – Agfinance/Branchless Banking and Regional AgFinance Adviser.
Alice Chapple
Alice is an economist and a specialist in impact investment and impact assessment. She is CASA’s investment Adviser and she established Impact Value in October 2012. She has spent her career working to find ways in which companies and investors can have a meaningful impact beyond financial returns. Her strong network enables her to draw in people with the right expertise for specific projects when needed.
Before establishing Impact Value, Alice worked as Director of Sustainable Financial Markets at Forum for the Future. She also worked as as financial analyst, fund manager and social and environmental advisor for the CDC Group.
Alice’s current roles include Chair of Investor Watch (which seeks to align capital markets with a sustainable future through Carbon Tracker and Planet Tracker), Independent Chair of the CDC Plus (Technical Assistance) Committee, Trustee of the Shell Foundation, and member of the Advisory Boards of Sainsbury’s Foundation, Frontier Finance Solutions and Connected Asset Management. Alice is also working with the University of Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership to develop and tutor their course on sustainable finance.
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