Innovative Finance

The annual unmet financing needs across agrifood systems are enormous, particularly for small-scale farmers, small and medium enterprises and farmer organizations in developing countries. These amounts do not even include the additional funding needed each year to sustainably transform the world’s agrifood systems.

Innovative financing solutions – such as impact investing, fintechs, blended finance, other de-risking instruments and carbon finance – can help bridge that gap. 

The FAO Investment Centre’s advisory team supports partners like the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank to do more and better in the agrifood lending sphere. 

FAO’s portfolio of climate-related financing projects is also growing, as are efforts to align investments and planning with the Paris Agenda, helping countries and financiers meet their climate commitments.

The Centre is working with countries and partners to close the digital divide and introduce more digital solutions – like fintechs, mobile payments, weather-based insurance – that can make a difference in the agrifood sector, especially for small-scale producers.

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