Other Prorustica Projects
Sustainable Supply Chains - Sub-Saharan Africa
Under a joint advisory role with Traidcraft, Prorustica is acting as advisor to the Acacia Social Investment Fund. Working with major European investors and buyers in the natural gum sub sector are giving technical input into the formation of a development Fund. The aim of the Fund is to enable a more stable pricing structure for the commodity and to provide farmers with a more constant price to assist their ability to plan in the long term and develop sustainable businesses.
Private Sector Development - Georgia
Prorustica has been contracted by the World Bank to provide a guidance to the World Bank/IFAD supported Rural Development Project. We developed an action plan for the implementation of private sector/SME development, particularly for the wine, citrus and hazelnut sub-sectors. We completed a strategic analysis of the sub-sectors, provided recommendations on investment activities and developed a costed and phased action plan for implementation.
Sustainable Finance and Risk Mitigation - Eastern Europe
Prorustica provided agribusiness finance and risk management expertise for a joint Shorebank/Prorustica programme funded by the European Bank Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Shorebank is a US-based bank involved in social and economic development programmes. Prorustica and Shorebank ran training programmes in value chain assessment and credit delivery for bank personnel involved in agribusiness finance. Recent programmes have included credit and lease finance training for financial institutions in Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovenia.
Innovative Finance – Sub-Saharan Africa
Prorustica was seconded through Riskill, aDutch company to design a Euro 100 million African Out-Grower Development Fund (AODF) for the German Government (DEG and KfW). The work included the detailed design of a funding facility to support greater access to finance for out-growers (including farmers associations, traders and processors). This took the form of a credit guarantee facility, technical assistance and a Centre of Competence that will be focused on supporting local banks in their financing of out-grower schemes across Africa.
Agribusiness Risk Mitigation - Ghana
Prorustica is working with one of the leading agricultural companies in Ghana on the development of a pension scheme for one of the largest cocoa associations in the country. The scheme has been designed to provide for both a personal savings account and a retirement account for an initial 17,000 farmers and their families. This is one of the first such schemes to be designed in sub-Saharan Africa.
Sector Sustainability - UK
A Prorustica Agribusiness Specialist was hired by a leading London-based fund manager to review and incorporate investment criteria to be used within ‘Sector Sustainability Blueprints.’ Prorustica helped to create Corporate and Social Responsibility Checklists for the fund manager when analyzing companies involved in primary agricultural production and sourcing from emerging markets.
Private Sector Development - Italy
Prorustica assisted IFAD to design and implement a strategy for greater private sector involvement in its programmes. Working at board-level, three consultants led a team to analyze private sector partnerships, including the development of new methodologies, products, solutions and capabilities to establish more effective and sustainable relationships with private sector partners. The Strategy Paper was approved by the IFAD Board in early 2006.
