Elevate Her | Are we making it too hard to access agricultural funding?

I left a conversation this week with more questions than answers.

By Maphuti Mongatane, business development manager at African Farming

The conversation was with one of the most successful agro-processors I know. This is someone who has already done what many people dream of doing. The business has identified markets, supplies customers, has proven demand and is ready to expand. Expansion would mean increased production, more opportunities throughout the value chain and most importantly, more jobs in a country that desperately needs them. Yet despite all of that, one question kept echoing in my mind …

Why does accessing funding still seem so difficult for businesses that are ready to grow?

Please don’t misunderstand me. This is not an attack on banks, development finance institutions or any organisation that has committed resources to agriculture. Their role is critical and every funder has a responsibility to protect the money entrusted to them. Due diligence, governance and accountability will always be important.

Also read: Elevate Her | The farm trucks that may have changed our view of farming

But surely it is also fair to ask another question: Can we simplify the journey for entrepreneurs who are already doing the work?

As we spoke, we discussed some of the information businesses are required to provide when applying for funding. Again, I understand why these requirements exist. But I also found myself thinking about the realities of agriculture. Funding is often needed before the business reaches its next level. A farmer needs finance before the crop is planted.

An agro-processor needs working capital before products are manufactured. A business needs to procure stock before it can fulfil orders. Employees need to be appointed before production increases. So, how do we expect businesses to generate the very income that proves they can repay funding when they need the funding first to generate that income?

That is the question I cannot stop asking … Remember, there was no succession planning – this is a business someone built from the ground!

Perhaps the bigger conversation is no longer about whether funding exists. Perhaps it is about whether the pathway to funding reflects the realities of agriculture. Every week I meet farmers and agripreneurs who are not looking for handouts. They are looking for an opportunity. They are prepared to work. They are complying with requirements. They are searching for markets. They are building relationships. They are investing everything they have into their businesses.

Also read: Elevate Her | Start the conversation that could change everything

What I hear from many of them is not a lack of determination.

It is frustration!

It is confusion!

It is the feeling that despite doing everything they have been asked to do, they are still uncertain about what it will actually take to access the funding that could unlock the next phase of their businesses.

That concerns me. Because every delayed expansion means delayed employment. Every business that cannot grow today is another opportunity postponed for tomorrow and South Africa cannot afford that.

We speak constantly about job creation, youth employment, agro-processing, localisation and growing the agricultural economy. Those ambitions will remain just that – ambitions – if entrepreneurs who are ready to expand cannot access the capital that makes expansion possible.

So perhaps it is time for a national conversation. Can we maintain the highest standards of governance while making funding processes easier to understand, easier to navigate and more aligned with the realities of agriculture? Can we simplify access without compromising accountability?

Can we build a funding ecosystem that gives entrepreneurs confidence instead of confusion?

Also read: Elevate Her | The power of passing the key

I don’t believe these questions belong only to farmers. They belong to funders. They belong to policymakers. They belong to everyone who believes agriculture has the power to grow our economy and create jobs. Because if someone who has a proven business, an established market and the ability to create employment still finds the journey to funding difficult, then surely we owe it to South African agriculture to ask whether the system itself can evolve.

I’d like to hear from those on both sides of the table. Farmers and agripreneurs, what has your experience been? And to our banks, development finance institutions and funding organisations: What can we do together to make access to agricultural funding simpler for businesses that are genuinely ready to grow?

Because every job we talk about creating starts with one business being given the opportunity to expand. Let’s make sure that opportunity isn’t harder to access than it needs to be.