3 days of activities, 300 project leaders, and more than 3,500 visitors. This is the summary in figures of the 7th edition of the Agricultural Financing Fair (FINAGRI) organized from October 7th to 9th, 2020 at the Modibo KEITA Memorial in Bamako, Mali. For three days, the Agriprofocus Mali network welcomed financial partners and agro-entrepreneurs around the theme:
October 21, 2020
Finagri 2020: 2SCALE presents its crowdfunding campaign
In the wake of this seventh edition, 2SCALE took the opportunity to present to the visiting public ten small businesses that are engaged in a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for their projects. As a reminder, at the end of September, the program launched its very first crowdfunding platform with the aim of mobilizing financial resources for small businesses involved in 2SCALE partnerships. The first phase involves three of the eight intervention countries of the program, namely Mali, Nigeria and Kenya. It is in this context that the team of Mali found this show a good opportunity for these companies to get in touch with a general public that could contribute to the realization of their projects.
Mobilizing contributors
During the 3 consecutive days, many participants visited the 2SCALE stand and got in touch with our partners.
Mamadou Kendé, representative of Agrisem, a Company selling seeds and phytosanitary products said:
Our presence in this fair is beneficial, because we could meet visitors to whom we presented our projects, and we hope they understood our needs and would probably support us.
For some visitors, this was their first time to hear about crowdfunding. For others, who are not very familiar with using the internet, it is the process of accessing the platform and contributing that is a concern for them.
Sanata Samaké, representative of Keitala Négoce, an agri-food processing and marketing company, explained:
The novelty of crowdfunding makes it difficult to understand for many people. We have shared the link of the platform with many of our contacts, but they keep asking about how it works. I think it's because this concept is new to them.
Despite some difficulties in mobilizing contributors, Mrs. Kadidiatou Barry, promoter of Barry Kossam, commends the approach and urges 2SCALE to extend this crowdfunding campaign to other small businesses.
However, the findings are not the same for everyone. Amara M. Doumbia, Agri-finance expert at Banque Atlantique Mali, a financial institution, visiting the 2SCALE stand, was very excited to see this crowdfunding initiative which allows small businesses to raise funds on their own to finance their own projects. According to him this is an innovation that is a development for Mali, and congratulates 2SCALE for the initiative.
Discussion with the participants
While participating in the panel dedicated to innovative approaches to financing smallholder farmers, the 2SCALE partnership facilitator, Yaye Yattara, explained the procedures to contribute in this campaign via the website. Flyers were also distributed on the sidelines of the fair to mobilize more contributors.
One week after the event, findings were rather positive on the Crowdfunding website. Some partners have already been able to mobilize up to 50% of their funds. With less than fifteen days from the end of this first phase of the first crowdfunding campaign, the partner companies of 2SCALE in Mali are planning to undertake a targeted approach to reach as many contributors as possible.
We are looking forward to the next Finagri fair to showcase more innovations from 2SCALE.