Agriculture Finance
“As long as poverty, injustice, and gross inequality exist in our world, none of us can rest”
Nelson Mandela
Atlas Credit’s Agriculture Finance (AgriFin) initiative is built on the idea that, through targeted financial solutions, training, and support, farmers can increase their production, income, and employment to build thriving and resilient households in their rural communities. Ultimately, we have one bold goal: help farmers grow more and earn more.
Through localized training and relationships, we are empowering farmers to operate their farms and businesses more effectively and productively. In addition, we are expanding access to finance in rural communities to accelerate investment and growth in the agriculture sector, creating sustainable economic opportunities for families living in some of the world’s most impoverished conditions.
Our AgriFin model….
brings scalable, tailored, high-impact training and loans to rural families living in poverty in Malawi, bringing three critical components to break the cycle of generational poverty:
- Technology-enabled training in critical skills to increase knowledge of agricultural best practices, increase farm productivity, improve financial literacy, strengthen credit-readiness, foster gender awareness, and build climate resilience.
- Tailored agricultural loans to maximize the quality and quantity of what farmers grow, consume, and sell.
- Empowering farmer groups to maximize profit from their crops.
we empower farmers to…
Increase their incomes: With higher-yielding crops, farmers are earning more and re-investing to improve their farms, such as adding irrigation.
Diversify their incomes: Farmers invest income in additional sources of revenue, such as goats, cows, and chickens, or starting a small side business, improving their long-term financial resiliency.
Improve their living conditions: With surplus income, farmers will purchase new metal roofs, water purifiers, food, and healthcare.
Send their children to school: Improvements in farm productivity and income mean more children can go to school instead of staying home to help on the farm.
Financial Programs
AgriFin develops tailored agricultural financial services according to the seasonal needs of small farmers and rural agribusinesses. Atlas Credit focuses on building the internal expertise of financial institutions, which equips them to grow and maintain sustainable agricultural portfolios long-term so more rural clients can access the capital they need to grow their farms and businesses.
Investing in agriculture is one of the most powerful actions to improve rural livelihoods. More opportunities in agriculture mean that fewer people go hungry, fewer children miss school, and more rural families can build sustainable livelihoods.
Climate Resilience
The increasing frequency and intensity of climate disasters, along with more unpredictable weather patterns, have jeopardized the income and food security of farmers across the globe. However, those living in extreme poverty are being disproportionately affected by climate change, and the lack of available resources makes rebuilding even more difficult. AgriFin is working to increase farmers’ resilience to climate change. AgriFin is supporting climate finance initiatives at financial institution partners and supporting Regenerative Agriculture practices among smallholder farmers. Regenerative Agriculture practices include minimizing soil disturbance, maximizing crop diversity, crop cover, living roots year-round, and integrating livestock. Regenerative Agriculture practices support healthy soil with limited external inputs that improve crop resilience to both drought and flooding, and produce healthy crops.
Education Finance
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nelson Mandela
To end extreme poverty tomorrow, we must educate children today.
Atlas Credit’s Education Finance (EduFinance) program increases the ability of independent non-state local schools to provide affordable, quality education. At the same time, it helps parents access the resources necessary to send their children to those schools. By connecting private sector finance to education providers in low- and middle-income countries, we are tackling the global education crisis and helping more children attend better schools.
School Improvement Loans
School Improvement Loans set the stage for rapid and sustainable school improvement, ensuring more students gain access to a better education. These loans are used by school owners to invest in their schools’ most pressing needs.
School owners use School Improvement Loans for:
- Infrastructure and expansion, like building new classrooms, bathrooms, or dormitories—all of which are especially important to improve attendance and enrollment, especially for girls
- Improving educational provisions by hiring new teachers to reduce class sizes, or purchasing textbooks, classroom supplies, desks, or computers
- Enhancing health and safety by adding metal roofs, concrete floors, security fencing, and wells, piping, or filtration systems for clean water
School Fee Loans
School Fee Loans help parents who earn irregular or seasonal incomes keep their children in school year-round. A lack of cash at the beginning of the school term often results in a child not enrolling or being pulled out of school. School Fee Loans ease the pressure of upfront educational costs, effectively spreading out the costs of children’s education. These loans prevent school dropouts or missed classes during times of household financial uncertainty, when parents may struggle to pay for school fees, uniforms, materials, or transportation.
School Fee Loans help:
- Students stay in school. Even when students attend free public schools, parents must pay for expenses such as transportation, uniforms, food, and classroom materials. When families are unable to cover the costs, children skip a term or drop out.
- Girls go to school. When money is tight, parents will often choose to send their sons to school before their daughters.
- Students improve their learning. When students can’t attend school consistently, they have trouble progressing through the curriculum and keeping up with their studies.
DID YOU KNOW???
Research shows that giving children access to good education reduces poverty and inequality, increases life expectancy, and gives women and girls more decision-making power. When children lack good education, it perpetuates poverty and global inequality, generation after generation.
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