GFA promotes agribusiness development at AgroTech Expo & Forum in Albania
The Albanian Agribusiness Support Facility (AASF) participated in the 2nd AgroTech Expo & Forum, a National Fair in Tirana on 15-16 March, 2019. The facility and its benefits for the Albanian agricultural sector were highlighted to more than 1,000 technical experts and practitioners from the agricultural sector, financial institutions, agribusinesses, producer and processer organizations and agricultural service providers. GFA has been providing technical assistance to AASF and promotes agribusiness development in Albania on behalf of EBRD and the government of Albania since 2017.
As part of the Expo, AASF presented agricultural finance products of the partnering financial institutions (PFIs) ProCredit Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Societe Generale and Fondi BESA, and facilitated the dialogue between agribusinesses and banks. AASF also introduced the AASF Agricultural Tech Cards and AASF Value Chain Studies, and promoted value chain finance for increased development towards the entire agricultural value chain.
GFA experts engaged in the project aim at enhancing access to finance for Albanian agribusinesses through PFIs. AASF combines funding and/or risk-sharing support to PFIs to increase lending to the agribusiness sector and supports agribusinesses through business advice and know-how. This includes technical assistance to PFIs in developing and refining a tailored agribusiness finance strategy as well as dedicated agribusiness finance products and tools to strengthen agri-loan assessment and underwriting.
