By: Emmanuel Mbowa
Freetown, 1st December 2025- Access to finance for MSMEs, especially smallholder farmers, has long been a challenge. This prompted the launch of the Agri-Financing Facility, a €6 million initiative funded by the European Union and spearheaded by UNCDF.
Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, explained: “This initiative was born out of numerous concerns we received from local farmers about their challenges in accessing finance to work on their fertile lands. This is a matching ground facility for our farmers. We want them to go to the banks, take loans, and pay back those loans because it is sustainable.”
He also highlighted the launch of a $10 million credit facility with the Bank of Sierra Leone, implemented through Sierra Leone Commercial Bank and Rokel Commercial Bank at a 10% interest rate. In addition, a €10 million EU-funded facility for farming through the private sector will be accessed at VISTA Bank.
“Seventy-five percent of the €10 million EU facility also goes to agriculture and will complement the €6 million now accessible at these two banks,” said Minister Kpaka. “We have also engaged with the OPEC Fund to start our own agriculture bank and learn from their expertise. When the private sector and farmers are leading, with access to loans and making profits, we believe it will sustain us.”
Dr. Kpaka further explained that under the €6 million scheme, if a business is valued at $120,000, 50% of the loan will be provided free, while the other 50% will be accessed through VISTA Bank and Safe Capital. Initially, the interest rate stood at 35%, but after negotiations it was reduced to 15%, repayable over 24 months with a grace period of 0–90 days.
The Agri-Financing Facility, piloted at VISTA Bank and Safe Capital Micro Finance, covers investment, insurance, digitalisation, and business environment. Key value chains include cocoa, cashew, and potatoes. Farmers will also receive technical training at Njala University on cash-flow management and agribusiness to help prevent recurring challenges in the sector.
“If you don’t have technical training in agriculture, once the crop fails there’s no insurance, that’s the end of it. We’ve seen this repeatedly, and we don’t want to keep repeating the same mistakes. We are hoping for a different result,” Kpaka concluded.
Philippe Rousseau, representative of the EU Delegation, cited Sierra Leone’s economic challenges: “Despite 73.9% of the rural population being involved in agriculture, much of Sierra Leone’s slow productivity is due to the numerous challenges farmers and businesses face when seeking access to finance. Loans are associated with high collateral and high interest rates that farmers and MSMEs can barely afford. So how do you expect an increase in technology and agricultural productivity?”
He added that the Agri-Financing Facility, launched through Salone Access to Finance, is designed to address these challenges and presents a new model where public and private finance work together.
Interested farmers are encouraged to apply but must meet certain criteria: businesses must have been in operation for at least one year, have business plans, and maintain accounts with VISTA Bank or Safe Capital Micro Finance.
Jaward Siaka, Managing Director of Safe Capital Micro Finance, explained: “As much as we want to expand access to finance for MSMEs in agriculture, we will also look at due diligence processes such as compliance and management structure. If you can manage your own resources adequately, it means whatever resources are extended to you by development partners or financial institutions, you can manage the loan well.”
He added that loans will not be disbursed in physical cash: “We will pay for tractors that the farmer needs. However, the project is flexible, with an interest rate of 15% per annum.”
The Salone Access to Finance Agri-Financing Facility is expected to run until 2028. Applications have already begun. Chernor M. Bah, Head of Commercial Banking at VISTA Bank, said: “We have 18 branches across the country, which makes it easy for farmers to apply for loans. But they must ensure they have registered businesses, have been in active operation for at least one year, and have business plans.”
VISTA Bank and Safe Capital Micro Finance are the pioneering institutions of the facility. Minister Kpaka concluded by encouraging smallholder farmers, especially women, to meet with the banks and take advantage of the loans.
