The IKEA Foundation, an affiliate of the Sweden-founded IKEA group of furniture companies; the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) recently made a joint investment of USD 30 million in Aceli Africa, a US-based nonprofit. Aceli encourages lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture sector, typically by depositing 2 percent to 8 percent of a given set of loans in escrow to cover a lender’s possible losses. The new investment is slated to unlock USD 700 million in lending to 750 agribusinesses in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, indirectly impacting 1 million smallholder farmers through 2025. Aceli, which was founded in 2018, also provides SMEs with technical assistance on a cost-sharing basis.
The IKEA Foundation is a charitable organization founded in 1982 by the home furnishings company IKEA, whose name is an acronym for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd. The parent organization was founded in Sweden but now comprises entities in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Lichtenstein. The foundation’s mission is to fund programs addressing four aspects of women’s and children’s lives: home, health, education and a sustainable family income. During 2017, the latest year for which data is available, the foundation worked with 74 partners in 41 countries and disbursed EUR 144 million (USD 175 million) in grants.
Founded in 1961, SDC is the international cooperation unit of Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. SDC finances development programmes, including humanitarian aid in 60 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. The size of its budget is not available.
Founded in 1961, USAID is a government agency that provides international economic and humanitarian assistance. It is active in areas such as economic growth, agriculture, trade, health, democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance. During the 2019 fiscal year, USAID reported USD 20.6 billion in disbursals in 134 countries.
By Romil Pandey, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
USAID press release
https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/nov-30-2020-usaid-announces-joint-30-million-commitment-unlock-finance
Aceli homepage
https://aceliafrica.org/
Aceli methodology
https://aceliafrica.org/what-we-do/approach/
USAID homepage
https://www.usaid.gov/
USAID activity report for 2019
https://results.usaid.gov/results?fiscalYear=2019
SDC homepage
https://www.eda.admin.ch/deza
SDC activity report for 2018
https://www.eda.admin.ch/deza/en/home/results-impact/wirkung-der-deza.html
IKEA Foundation homepage
https://www.ikeafoundation.org/
IKEA Foundation annual report for 2017
https://ikeafoundation.org/about/documents/
UN Sustainable Development Goals
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
Past MicroCapital article on USAID
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-usaid-gives-2-5m-for-design-of-kiva-invest-in-women-fund-k-iwf-from-womens-global-development-and-prosperity-w-gdp-initiative/
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