The Key to Fighting Poverty in Africa: Could unlocking smallholder finance solve both the continent's food and employment challenges?

Social lenders such as Root Capital have pioneered financing for smallholder producers of export crops like coffee, cocoa and tea. Now, Root is seeking to help build agricultural businesses that serve local staple crop markets as well – a financing market that may be 10 times as big.

Root, together with Germany’s KfW Development Bank and agriculture impact investor AgDevCo, recently announced the Lending for African Farming Company (LAFCo), a $15 million facility to provide working capital loans to the small and mid-sized businesses that supply and buy from Africa’s smallholder farmers.