Webinar

19
May
Access to agricultural finance for young entrepreneurs in developing and emerging contexts

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

19 May 2021 
15:00-16:30 Rome time (CEST) 

Young entrepreneurs are an essential driving force for the growth of the agricultural sector, yet they face many challenges including access to formal financial services.

In the framework of the FAO’s Integrated Country Approach (ICA) for boosting decent jobs for youth in the agri-food system, we have recently published a series of studies to analyze the current scenario of financial inclusion of young agricultural entrepreneurs in three specific countries: Kenya, Uganda, Guatemala 

This event will present the insights and lessons learned from the development of these country-level studies, followed by a debate among a panel of experts. The debate will focus on the use of digital innovations to foster youth financial inclusion, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

This event has been jointly organized by the Decent Rural Employment Team and the RISE Team (Rural Institutions and Services Empowerment) of FAO, with the technical support of the CABFIN Partnership – a collaboration among leading development agencies involved in the rural finance domain that includes: FAO, IFAD, WFP, GIZ, UNCDF and the World Bank.

Opening:
Ileana Grandelis
ICA Global Coordinator, FAO
Ileana Grandelis works as Programme Officer with the FAO Decent Rural Employment Team and coordinates the FAO’s Integrated Country Approach (ICA) for boosting decent jobs for youth in the agri-food system.
Faciitator and presenter:
Niclas Benni
Rural Finance Specialist, FAO
Niclas Benni is a Rural Finance Specialist in the RISE Team of FAO. His work focuses mainly on digital innovation for financial inclusion, climate risk insurance, as well as gender and youth inclusive finance.

Panelists:
Ata Cisse
Youth Finance Regional Specialist, UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
Ata Cisse works with financial service providers in Africa to develop, test and scale up demand-driven and responsible financial and complementary non-financial services to youth. She is responsible for identifying  potential partners keen on connecting financial inclusion initiatives with economic opportunities for youth.

Jean Bosco Iyacu 
Country Director of Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR)
Jean Bosco Iyacu has over 15 years of experience working in the Rwandan financial sector and development finance. He is the Country Director of AFR, a Not-for-Profit Company promoting access to financial services for unserved and underserved groups (women, youth, people with disabilities, smallholder farmers, informal sector workers and refugees) and micro, small and medium enterprises in Rwanda.

Sieta Gatabaki
Deputy Programme Director at Mercy Corps AgriFin
Sieka Gatabaki directs all programming in Nigeria for Mercy Corps AgriFin. Before joining AgriFin, Sieka served as Technical Advisor with IFC managing their Airtel Money Uganda accelerator. With over 20 years of experience spanning from social entrepreneurship to telecommunications, he specializes in digital usage and adoption.

Tumwebaze Khamutima
CEO of YOFCHAN in Uganda
Tumwebaze Khamutima is the CEO of the Young Farmers Champions Network (YOFCHAN) in Uganda. YOFCHAN works to support the development of small and medium youth-led agri-businesses to expand agricultural production, provide sustainable jobs for the youth and enhance economic growth.