EBAFOSA is the first every inclusive pan-African framework and platform, an institution with protocols – a constitution and rules of procedure adopted in an inclusive continental process guiding its actions.
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In addition, actors using these systems minimise their postharvest losses and increase yields to earn more and be better placed to make repayments to their cooperatives. And considering clean energy is a climate solution, these cooperatives are financing upscaling of climate actions.
a) In Cameroon, through EBAFOSA convening space & technical guidance, a women njangi / cooperative with 500 cassava farmers, have been mobilised to pool their resources and acquire solar driers. Through this njangi, these women are drying their cassava to increase its shelf life and speculate for better market process that enable them to repay the cash advance from the njangi. Through this cooperative, solar driers upscaling – mitigation – is financed. In addition, cassava being a climate resilient crop, the njangi is also financing EBA
b) In Kenya, a micro-finance SACCO focused on financing cassava farmers has been guided to expand thier offerings to start financing solar driers, biogas and other clean energy systems to enable the cassava farmers develop a variety of cassava products and diversify their income streams. The cooperative has diversified its lending to now include these clean energy systems as a business expansion & diversification strategy, but which has co-benefits of sustainably financing climate action considering clean energy is a climate solution.
c) In Togo, youth groups have been guided to leveraged on a financial inclusion initiative targeting farmers by providing cooperative services that was focused on social financing of inputs and expanded it to start innovative financing of clean energy solutions and linking farmers to markets to enable farmers earn more. They are linking solar driers to various agro-value chains that need driers & are lucrative especially rice, fish and cassava – such that produce is dried to preserve quality while increasing shelf-life. This is scaling up clean energy a climate action from an enterprise perspective. Work is ongoing in three prefectures with a total population of over 390,000 people – a potential local demand market for driving these climate solutions.
d) In Rwanda, youth innovative volunteers who were guided to use their skills to connect farmers to clean energy solutions have won government financial support under the “Youth in Agriculture Investment” initiative at the district level to start a youth cooperative focused on financing clean energy for agro-value addition. This is innovatively financing clean energy, a climate action.