#BusinessOpportunities:Africa Agri-Food Development Programme for agri-food companies in Africa

Application Deadline: 30th July 2021. 

The Africa Agri-Food Development Programme (AADP) is a joint initiative between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Objective of the AADP is to develop partnerships between the Irish Agri-Food Sector and African countries to support sustainable growth of the local food industry, build markets for local produce and support mutual trade between Ireland and Africa. This will be achieved through supporting eligible Irish companies to build meaningful partnerships with African companies and use their expertise and resources to jointly work on projects which will have a strong development impact. In assessing applications, the potential for a project to contribute to reaching the Furthest Behind will be a key consideration, in line with the priorities set out in Ireland’s policy for international development, A Better World.

It is a requirement of the AADP that any investment of public funds will be at least matched by co-funding from the private sector. It is intended that AADP investments serve as a catalyst for far greater private sector investment, which will deliver significant development impact and develop meaningful partnerships between Irish agri-food companies and locally owned and operated African companies. Funding will only be approved for applicants who can clearly demonstrate financial and development additionality. The fund is designed to leverage greater expertise, experience and investment from the Irish agri-food sector and projects should demonstrate results with a long-term developmental impact that will ultimately lead to sustainable benefits in African countries through investment by the private sector.

Irish agri-food expertise is wide-ranging and examples of suitable AADP projects include:

• Business and capacity development
• Sustainable production and processing systems
• Knowledge and Technology Transfer
• R&D
• Project Management

Eligibility Criteria 

Applicants

• All proposed projects must be commercial in nature and focus, and must contribute strongly to the sustainable development of the food system within the African country(ies) selected;
• All applicants must be agri-food companies that have been registered/incorporated in Ireland at least 12 months prior to the AADP application period commencing;
• Along with the relevant Application Form, all AADP applicants must provide:
  • At least one year of audited accounts;
  • Company and tax information
  • An account of project-related “flow of funds”
  • Any background contracts and Memoranda of Understanding
  • Any further documentation found to be relevant and agreed with partners
  • The partners involved for Full Projects must include at least one Irish registered agri-food company and one local commercial entity in Africa.
• All applicants for Full Projects must be able to demonstrate that they have at least three years of experience within their team in the relevant agri-food sector and development context.

• The application must clearly outline how these two distinct companies will enter an equitable and ethical partnership.
• If an applicant company proposes to undertake a Feasibility Study, it should include a list of any potential partners within the application.
• All proposals must clearly explain: (i) how the intended results of the project will provide additional contributions to the sustainable development of the local agri-food system in the African country(ies) and (ii) why public funds are essential to finance the initiative and will not replacing existing funding sources.
• Successful AADP funding applicants will be encouraged to engage with Irish and other national and international NGOs where possible on various aspects of the projects i.e., project design, community engagement and mobilization, training and extension, etc.
• Projects will be supported in the following countries – Botswana, Cóte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, , Zambia and Zimbabwe;

The AADP is now open for submissions. Application forms must be completed by the Irish applicant company and submitted to [email protected]. 

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 5.00pm on Friday, 30th July 2021. 

Please monitor this website and the Departments’ Social Media accounts for updates:

Dept of Agriculture, Food & the Marine Twitter | Dept of Foreign Affairs Twitter

Application Forms

Applications will only be accepted through the official AADP Application Forms.

To request an Application Form for a Full Project or Feasibility Study please email [email protected] with the subject line “Application Form Request”

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Africa Agri-Food Development Programme 2021/2022