FAO hosted the 39th Annual Meeting of the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) in Rome from 13-15 June 2017. On this occasion, a Thematic Day explored the relevance of small and medium-sized agro-food companies (SMAEs) in poverty reduction and the transformation of rural development. Representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises from Uganda and Ethiopia, and academics and experts on finance and agricultural value chain development participated in the discussions. SMAEs' access to finance, human capital development, networking and embeddedness in the local community, as well as the role of donors and international organizations were the main areas of discussion.