Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Extension & Advisory Services Activity

Connexus is working with USAID and Winrock International to implement the Feed the Future Nigeria AEAS Activity, leveraging the power of Nigerian entrepreneurship to facilitate learning, replication, and scale around alternative models of extension to increase access and adoption of agricultural technologies for at least two million smallholder farmers (SHFs) in Benue, Cross River, Delta, […]

West Africa Trade and Investment Hub

The West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (the Trade Hub) was a five-year project that promoted trade and investments in West Africa using private sector co-investments. Connexus led the Public Private Partnership (PPP) component of the Trade Hub, as part of Creative Associates’ consortium. As PPP lead, Connexus’s job was to identify and build a […]

Linking Infrastructure, Finance and Farms to Cashew (LIFFT Cashew)

As part of USDA’s grant Linking Infrastructure, Finance and Farms to Cashew (LIFFT Cashew) awarded to Shelter for Life in 2017, Connexus played a leading role in facilitating access to agricultural finance, investment, and marketing to strengthen the cashew growing regions of Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea Bissau. Connexus supported supply and demand for agricultural […]

Organized Learning Event on the Role of Communities in Building Resilient Health Systems

The first-ever Cracking the Nut Health conference brought almost 200 participants from 25 countries to discuss Health innovations, the role of front-line health workers, private sector engagement, data access and ownership, and many more thought-provoking quandaries in this ever changing world. The learning event, entitled Cracking the Nut Health: The Role of Communities in Building […]

GROW Liberia

Connexus developed a financial product backed by a guarantee fund to support vegetable traders in Monrovia for the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency’s (Sida) GROW Liberia project. Connexus conducted interviews with all project stakeholders to understand the value chain and market dynamics, and partnered with a local financial institution to develop the operational processes and […]

Agricultural Value Chain Study

Connexus conducted research on the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) Group’s private sector investments and initiatives in Latin American and Caribbean countries related to agricultural value chains. The study included desk research on high agricultural growth value chains and a detailed assessment of IADB’s current investment vehicles and projects, including on-site visits and interviews with IADB […]

Private Sector Driven Agricultural Growth (PSDAG)

The USAID Rwanda Private Sector Driven Agricultural Growth (PSDAG) project increased smallholder incomes by promoting private sector investments and connecting smallholders to markets to transform the Rwandan agricultural sector. As part of the RTI-led consortium, Connexus vetted small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in targeted value chains and connected them with local financial institutions (FIs) to […]

Financial Bundling in Kenya

Connexus worked with Netafim Ltd., one of the world’s largest drip irrigation manufacturers and its local distributor, Amiran, to facilitate access to finance for Kenyan smallholder farmers to purchase Netafim’s drip irrigation systems. Connexus worked with local financial institutions to develop and market an innovative loan product that included affordable financing to purchase the drip […]

Financing Smallholder Coffee Farmers in Colombia

Connexus worked with ECOM Colombia, locally known as Compañía Colombiana Agroindustrial (CCA), to strengthen their lending operations and facilitate access to finance for smallholder coffee farmers in the Huila region of Colombia. The work was part of a public-private partnership project with funding from ECOM and the Dutch Development Agency. To strengthen lending operations, Connexus […]

Access to Finance for Smallholder Cocoa Farmers in the Caribbean

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Connexus worked with the St. Vincent Cocoa Company (SVCC) to assist the Farmers Support Company (FSC) to enhance its lending program to smallholder farmers. To build the capacity of FSC staff, Connexus conducted its agricultural value chain finance training along with strategy planning and product development workshops. Connexus helped […]

Peru Cacao Alliance

Connexus led the finance component of the USAID Peru Cocoa Alliance. Within the first three quarters of the project, Connexus facilitated $1.2 million in impact investor funds to cocoa and coffee cooperatives and facilitated increased access to finance for more than 400 farmers (30% female). Connexus managed relationships with socially responsible investors, conducted due diligence […]