Zimbabwe in US$4 million investment windfall
The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) is to invest US$4 million in Zimbabwe's rural financial services and agribusiness sectors. Fund director, Hugh Scott, said more than 250 local companies in the Southern African country had applied for the grants that range from US$250 000 to US$1.5 million.
He said the AECF Zimbabwe window was targeting rural financial services and agribusiness sectors because "these sectors were selected on the premise that growth in them will have the biggest impact on poorer people in Zimbabwe, the majority of whom live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for livelihood".
In Zimbabwe, AECF is keen on applications from new or existing financial service providers to assist them to extend their outreach to small business and small farmers in the rural areas.