Call for Proposals: The Common Fund for Commodities

They finance initiatives that align commercial viability with environmental and social sustainability – enabling smallholders to access high-value markets, adopt eco-friendly practices, add value locally, and engage in biodiversity-conscious farming.

Aims

• Their investments aim to build more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable value chains -where technology empowers people, healthy ecosystemssit alongside economic opportunity, and smallholders are positioned as active partners in progress

Priority Areas

• General Priority Areas:
  • Trade Finance for Companies – Connecting Smallholder Farmers with Global Markets.
  • Regenerative Agriculture & Biodiversity Protection.
  • Local Value Addition with Low Environmental Impact.
  • Agtech and Digital Tools for Inclusive, Sustainable and Transparent Value Chains.
  • Improving Financial Access for Smallholder Farmers.
  • Women Entrepreneurship and Business Solutions with a Gender Lens
• Additional Priority Areas for the 27th Call for Proposal:
  • Projects focused on the sustainable use and conservation of forest resources in the Congo Basin region (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo).
  • High impact funding proposals concerning small ticket sizes (up to USD 500,000) in the following countries: Senegal, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zambia, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe.

Funding Information

• The CFC funds projects with loan and other debt instruments.
• The maximum amount is USD 1.5 million for regular projects, and up to USD 300,000 under the Fast-Track procedure.
• However, they show some flexibility when they have projects with higher impacts and good case of finance.

Eligibility Criteria

• The CFC welcomes applications from SMEs, cooperatives, social enterprises, NGOs, and public or private sector entities that work to enhance smallholder livelihoods and drive inclusive local development.
• Eligible applicants must be based in, or have active operations in, CFC member countries, with projects that align with their mission of inclusive growth and sustainable development. Projects should be financially viable, and applicants must have a minimum of 3 years of operational history demonstrating relevant experience and capacity.
• Funding proposals from or focused on Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing Countries (SIDCs) are treated with priority.

For more information, visit CFC.