MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ADA’s SSNUP, Incofin’s agTAF Supporting Mobile App from Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM) of India, Easing Farmers’, Buyers’ Assessment of Seed Quality

Incofin Investment Management, which is based in Belgium, recently announced a grant of approximately EUR 125,000 (USD 147,000) from its agricultural technical assistance fund (agTAF) and the Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Programme (SSNUP) to fund a mobile application for customers of Indian agricultural logistics firm Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM). The app, which SLCM plans to launch by December 2021, will “enable the trader or farmer to check the quality of crop seeds [by taking a picture] on a smartphone or tablet.”

SCLM CEO Sandeep Sabharwal stated, “This grant is an endorsement of our sustained efforts to digitalise processes for the ease of our stakeholders and customers, and our commitment to modernise India’s post-harvest agricultural value chain with cutting-edge technologies.”

SLCM offers purchasing, financing, collateral management and other services to a range of actors in agricultural value chains. As of 2021, the firm manages 7,000 warehouses and 19 cold storage units.

Launched by ADA Microfinance in 2020, SSNUP aims to improve “the safety nets of smallholder farmers in Africa, Latin America and Asia by boosting the development of agricultural value chains.” The goal of the program is to catalyze value chains to positively impact a total of 50 million vulnerable people. SSNUP focuses on Sub-Saharan Africa and also serves Asia and Latin America. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Luxembourg’s Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs are funding two thirds of the program’s budget of EUR 18 million (USD 21.3 million), covering the years 2020 through 2023. Also partnering on the effort is Lux-Development, an agency of the Luxembourgish government that is dedicated to promoting international development via education, health, microfinance and other projects.

Founded in 2001, Incofin is a for-profit firm that seeks “to promote inclusive progress.” As of 2021, it has 320 investees in 66 countries, mostly active in financial inclusion and agriculture. Incofin’s portfolio is valued at USD 1 billion and comprises the following funds: agRIF, BRS Microfinance Coop Fund, Fairtrade Access Fund (FAF), Fonds pour l’Inclusion Financière en République Démocratique Congo, Incofin CVSO, Invest in Visions, Rural Impulse Fund II, Volksvermogen and a loan portfolio of vdk bank.

Founded in 1994 as Appui au Développement Autonome, ADA aims to reduce poverty by investing in and supporting microfinance institutions in the Americas, Asia and Africa. As of June 2020, ADA managed loans totaling EUR 28 million (USD 33 million) outstanding to 54 microfinance institutions in 25 nations. During 2020, the NGO administered technical assistance to 126 microfinance institutions.

By Harriet Ritchie, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Incofin press release
https://incofin.com/incofin-im-supports-indian-agri-app/

SLCM homepage
https://www.sohanlal.in/

ADA description of SSNUP
https://www.ada-microfinance.org/en/ssnup

ADA 2020 Activity Report
https://www.ada-microfinance.org/nos-ressources/mediatheque/ada-rapport-dactivite-2020

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