In search of new clients - Scoping missions and company assessments of farmer-led businesses Agriterra's Team Agribusiness starts from scratch in terms of client portfolio. Only a limited number  of existing clients of Agriterra are into business development or do not comply with the criteria for eligibility defined by Agriterra. 

Services and accompaniment on this topic to be delivered by Agriterra are envisaged mainly in the phase of business planning, the improvement of the financial management, match-making with investors and financial institutions, backstopping and technical support and in the monitoring of progress, once the business is established. For the advisory services Agriterra will tap mainly from the knowledge and expertise of the Dutch agricultural cooperatives and agribusiness. 

Potential clients for the team Agribusiness are those with the opportunity for developing a clear business case and the possibility to fund an increasing part of the business with investments or loans. The type of client is the business-oriented cooperatives or any other type of farmer-controlled companies with the following characteristics: (1) existing ventures, (2) coops with a fairly well established track record, (3) coops with ambitions to expand or innovate, (4) coops facing difficulties in mobilizing equity and debt in domestic market and (5) with 1000+ membership of small holder farmers. 

Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Zambia have been selected as focus countries for Agriterra's team Agribusiness. Ghana, Burkina Faso (West Africa), Vietnam (Asia) and Peru, Colombia (Latin America) have been classified as optional: there seem to be potential though we have not yet the networks and contacts to be able to set up a sound portfolio of clients.  80% of resources (financial and human) will be targeting farmer-led businesses in these countries. Following previous experiences the team opts for the following sub-areas: dairy, food crops & seeds, tourism and banking & insurance. Decisions on further specialization like to specific sectors still have to be taken. Any specialization on a sector does not exclude activities, like in previous years, in any other sector. Yet, in all cases we will now demand a clear business case and the possibility to fund an increasing part of the business with investments or loans.

The underlying project aims to facilitate scoping missions as well as missions for company assessment in order to build up a client portfolio of farmer-led companies with good business potential and that are in demand of the services Agriterra is able to render.

In 2011 scoping missions are foreseen to identify new clients and to scope for new intervention opportunities. With support from local partners such as federations of cooperatives, SNV, financial institutions and investors cooperatives and other type of farmer-led companies with good business potential will be shortlisted and visited by an Agriterra team. Once classified as  potential client a company assessment (formerly known as specific intake) will take place in order to get an in-depth understanding of the company's performance. If the findings are positive an action plan and budget will be developed which should lead by the end of 2011 to a bankable and investment ready business plan. 

This is an internal project. Executed missions and advisory days will be transferred to projects with clients as soon as they are set on application by the team manager.

To generate income and employment of rural households in agrotourism activities by establishing an agrotourism centre in AGFU which will provide services in marketing, training and access to finance/loans from the bank.