The Ministry of Finance and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have launched a $70 million facility aimed at improving access to low-cost credit for rural communities.
Speaking at the launch of the Blended Rural Financing Facility (BRFF), Minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola Banda said the initiative is designed to provide affordable lending to rural SMEs, cooperatives, and smallholder farmers, who often struggle to access credit.
The facility will be managed by the Malawi Agriculture and Industrial Investment Corporation (MAIIC), which will provide funding to microfinance institutions that will, in turn, extend affordable loans to rural borrowers.
Sarah Mbago Bhunu, IFAD’s Regional Manager for Southern and Eastern Africa, said agriculture in Africa is underfunded by the private sector, adding that blending public and private resources will help unlock the economic potential of rural communities.
BRFF aims to ensure that 50% of beneficiaries are women and 30% are youth, promoting equity, inclusion, and rural economic growth. Over the program’s implementation period, the facility is expected to provide over 605,000 loans to benefit 1.7 million people.
By Isaac Jali
