Events

Smaller enterprises in the agriculture sector have long struggled to access adequate and timely capital for their business activities, despite their critical role in moving food from farm to fork. The development finance sector has increasingly focused on such enterprises, launching various funds and initiatives to bridge the estimated US$ 74.5 billion annual financing gap they face across Sub-Saharan Africa.

USAID CATALYZE, a Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Hub project, is innovating new ways to engage with the private sector by speeding up the grant procurement process to mobilize capital towards underserved sectors, geographies, and populations globally.

In the developing world, banks and private sector investment funds are two of the largest sources of capital for agricultural small and midsize enterprises (agri-SMEs). Banks are by far the farthest reaching, serving a large portion of the market through their branch networks. While having the potential to transform both local economies and food systems through agricultural financing, they often take too conservative of an approach to lending, have demanding collateral requirements, and tend to be focused on short loan tenors.

Mark your calendars for November 14-16, 2023, for MSS2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. Join us in an immersive experience where industry leaders, experts, and visionaries come together to exchange ideas, foster collaboration, and shape the future of market systems. Key Themes Include: Climate Change & Adaptation, Conflict-Affected Contexts,  Food Security and Food Systems.

This unique training workshop, held every two years, brings together experienced results measurement practitioners to share lessons learned, solve common problems, exchange practical approaches and build a supportive network. It has gained a reputation for empowering practitioners with cutting edge and yet practical tools and techniques in results measurement to improve program management, impact and accountability.

The Small and Growing Business (SGB) Evidence Fund is a partnership between the International Growth Centre (IGC) and

The European Center of Sustainable Development in collaboration with the Canadian Institute of Technology will organize the 11th ICSD 2023 International Conference on Sustainable Development, with particular focus on Environmental, Economic and Socio-Cultural Sustainability. The Conference theme : Creating a unified foundation for the Sustainable Development: Research, Practice and Education.

Creating Change through Communications (CCTC) provides an overview of key strategies and tools for leaders and communications professionals at MSD/PSE programs and projects. In 9 weeks, you will: - Learn communication strategies and tactics for mission-driven organizations and MSD/PSE programs - Receive guided development of a tailored communications strategy - Get 1:1 support from the Discovered Markets Team - Join a vibrant community of like-minded individuals - Obtain a certificate of completion

USAID's Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Policy recognizes that private sector resources and capabilities are required to work at the scale needed to address development challenges effectively and sustainably. Mobilizing private capital has become an increasingly important part of this effort. USAID’s INVEST initiative has successfully engaged transaction advisors to mobilize over $800 million in investment capital for renewable energy, agriculture, financial services, and other priorities.

This event will convene industry leaders, buyers, processors, investors, development finance institutions (DFIs), donors, and other relevant stakeholders with business interests in sustainable agriculture and forestry sectors in Southeast Asia. The event will close out USAID Green Invest Asia after six successful years transforming the sustainable agriculture and forestry sectors in Southeast Asia, in collaboration with businesses, investors, and financial institutions.

The World Bank is gearing up for its Development Impact Week which will mark the launch of its flagship report "Driving Revolutionary Ideas into Practice". 

Image Catalytic funding is the provision of resources to an investment fund or vehicle designed to mitigate risk and improve the fund's overall

Image This workshop will launch the Africa RISE report, an analysis of existing frameworks, identifying gender gaps and cra

On October 27, USAID and Chemonics hosted a webinar discussing key lessons from the Colombia RFI experience and explored how they overcame cultural misconceptions and structural barriers to reach Venezuelan migrant clients and mobilized $11 million in finance.

Join us for a dynamic learning event designed to share practical lessons in developing and delivering financial services that contribute to improving the resilience of low-income customers. The event will draw on the work of Savings at the Frontier and Scale2Save over the past six years with 20 financial service providers (FSPs) in 9 countries across Africa. Sessions include:

Increasing trade involves a number of things - trade agreements, expedited systems and processes, transparency and information flows, etc.  It also requires public good infrastructure - seaports, roads, airports, warehouses, etc. - which requires financing.

Join the USAID Private Sector Engagement Hub on August 4 starting at 9 am EST for a webinar on "Platform Work and Financial Inclusion," led by the USAID Digital Team in conjunction with the Consultative Group for the Poor (GCAP).

Global climate action needs to accelerate rapidly over the next decade to avoid the worst impact of climate change and transform economies to a low carbon pathway. The coffee sector continues to make significant strides towards broad commitments for sustainable production; however, consider that in order to ensure sustainability, carbon footprint is one of the environmental indicators in coffee sustainability production. The analysis of carbon footprint provides decision support for the development of coffee production and consumption policies.

Join us on May 31 for a webinar on private health start-ups and the support they need to succeed. The private healthcare market in low- and middle-income countries has grown significantly in the last decade and only increased in importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many innovators struggle to scale their ideas into viable businesses because they do not receive, or do not have access to, business development support and financial services tailored to their markets and unique needs.

Join the USAID Private Sector Engagement Hub for a webinar exploring Development Impact Bonds (DIBs) on May 12, 2022.

Image The 5th Annual Market Systems Symposium will bring together experts, practitioners and donors from around the world to advance conversations exploring inno

Private Sector Development (PSD) initiatives – in particular those aiming to drive innovation, economic growth, and job creation – often depend on significant investment to achieve their objectives. Equally, Development Finance Institutions and impact investors can benefit from the wider market-shaping activities of PSD programs. This synergy creates exciting opportunities for collaboration and greater impact. 

Image Persistent gaps in access to financial services and economic opportunities for women hinder development an

USAID Green Invest Asia and the Global Coffee Platform co-host this climate finance webinar exploring the coffee industry’s low-carbon economy, which features panel discussions with corporate partners, investors, and experts supporting net-zero commitments to mobilize climate finance. Confirmed presenters include investors U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Sail Ventures, First Degree Global Asset Management, Rabobank, VPBank, along with World Coffee Research, international coffee merchant Sucafina, and Vietnam coffee exporter SIMEXCO.

Image Mobilizing private capital through blended finance can unleash both economic and environmental opportunities in sustainable landscapes.