AMEA and Small Foundation: Enhancing support for agricultural SMEs in Africa

Small Foundation is excited to announce a new multi-year partnership with the Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance (AMEA), to support the network to expand and build an evidence base that will underpin strategic engagement in actionable national and global dialogues.

AMEA’s mission is to transform the systems that support farmers organisations and agri-SMEs to create value for farmers; achieved by improving and better coordinating business development services (BDS) to these enterprises. As a network, AMEA promotes scalable approaches that improve service delivery and cost effectiveness; generates and disseminates learning; and supports market system changes that enable agri-SMEs to find the best partners to support their growth. AMEA currently operates six local networks in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya and Uganda.

Over the next three years, our partnership will focus on establishing local networks in Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, and India; enhancing AMEA’s learning and data collection capabilities; and developing more strategic approaches to dialogue and action.

We believe that strengthening AMEA’s effectiveness will improve the quality of BDS delivered to agri-SMEs and scale more sustainable delivery models in these markets, resulting in inclusive and sustainable growth.

Reflecting on the partnership, Global Network Director Mark Blackett said, “Small Foundation supported AMEA’s initial transition to a network, and we are excited about this investment into the next phase of our evolution. I feel we are at a tipping point where BDS markets are ready for significant, structural change through which innovative, high performing BDS providers are rewarded; and AMEA local networks aim to support that shift. We all need this change, especially agricultural SMEs in Africa.”

Image: AMEA’s Mark Blackett signs MOU with the National Economic Empowerment Council of Tanzania. July 2024.