(AfDB) - The African Development Bank will launch 17 new grant projects funded by the Agriculture Fast Track Fund (AFT) in support of agribusiness Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs) in eight African countries – Ghana (4), Tanzania (4), Burkina Faso (2), Malawi (2), Mozambique (2), Ethiopia (1), Nigeria (1) and Senegal (1).

The AFT Fund is managed by the Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department of the African Development Bank.  It supports the development of a strong pipeline of “bankable” agriculture infrastructure projects and assists African agribusiness SMEs in project preparation activities to ease their take-off. The fund is supported by the governments of the USA (through USAID), Denmark (through DANIDA) and Sweden (through Sida).

The Fund finances the project development cost of a broad range of agriculture infrastructure, spanning the entire value chain: from production to the market. Target projects range from rural feeder roads to irrigation, agro-processing and marketing facilities, and out-grower schemes. The emphasis is on projects that contribute to the food security, income enhancement, job creation, and livelihood of smallholder farmers.

The projects are being implemented in 10 eligible regional member countries (RMEs) of the Bank: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania.