Alterfin, Triodos and Rabo Rural Fund from Rabobank joined the financial matchmaking sessions that ProFound organises annually at BioFach. In total we made 13 matches for 9 exhibitors of our Organic Africa Pavilion.
With this service, we help to ensure that exhibitors gain access to financial solutions from social lenders and micro-financing organisations.
“The preparation of the matchmaking by ProFound was highly appreciated. We met interested and well-matched producers that we would hope to mature into opportunities for the future. The facilitation provided us with a great opportunity to meet with multiple companies that we otherwise may not have met. The meetings were efficient and scheduled in such a way as not to distract the exhibitors promoting their products.” – Joan Penche (Investment Manager at Alterfin)
The need for financial matchmaking
African suppliers often cannot access the necessary financial services they need. Their financial position makes them too small to qualify for loans from many private banks, yet too large to be targeted by development aid interventions. This space is known as the ‘missing middle’.
At the same time, social lenders in Europe and North America cannot identify a sufficient number of viable projects to fund and face high risks catering to the needs of the missing middle. ProFound helps to bridge this financial gap through organising matchmaking sessions between suppliers and social lenders. We take the time to understand the financial position and needs of the supplier and links these to targeted social lenders. This maximises the chances for a financial match between the lender and the supplier.
For the Future
ProFound will continue to organise similar matchmaking sessions with social lenders in the future. We will expand our services to suppliers that are not (yet) exhibiting at the Organic Africa Pavilion. We will expand our reach of social lenders to include all social lenders of the Council for Smallholder Finance (CSAF).
Do you want to use our financial matchmaking service as a supplier or social investor? Contact James Sablerolles for more information.