Kafalat unveils $47 million
agriculture direct loan program

Targeting small and medium enterprises

Kafalat has launched a $47.6 million direct loan program to eligible agri-food businesses and rural agri-tourism value chains to benefit around 390 enterprises. The loan initiative is part of the Green Agri-Food Transformation for Economic Recovery (GATE) project, which is funded by a $200 million World Bank loan. The loans will range from $100,000 to $400,000 for larger projects, representing $33 million of the total allocation. A minimum of $14 million is reserved for loans of up to $100,000 to ensure support reaches smaller enterprises. To qualify, an enterprise must operate within the agri-food sector, demonstrate growth potential in sales, exports, or employment, have fewer than 50 employees registered with the National Social Security Fund, and registered at the Commercial Register along with required operating licenses.

Untapped potential
Samir Nasr, General Manager of Kafalat, said that the program puts medium-term financing back into the hands of agri-food enterprises poised for growth. “One in five households relies on agri-food for income, the food industry represents the largest industrial sub-sector, and agri-food products account for more than one-sixth of total exports,” he said. Despite these figures, the country continues to import roughly 80 percent of its food. Prior to the 2019 financial crisis, the agricultural sector received only about one percent of bank lending, and most small and medium-sized enterprises have lacked access to credit since then. Over the past two decades, the agri-food value chain has accounted for over 60 percent of the loans guaranteed by Kafalat. Nasr said that agri-food enterprises continued operating through difficult years, and the mission today is to help them expand. Nasr said that the program success will be measured by its economic impact rather than loan volume alone, citing rural job creation, stronger production chains, enhanced food security, and export expansion. “Untapped export potential exceeds $450 million,” he said.

Opening the GATE
Wafaa Al-Dika, Senior Advisor for the GATE project at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that the strategic directions of the sector is based on the National Agriculture Strategy (2026-2035) and the agricultural investment strategy. “There are four investment priorities, including increasing productivity while reducing costs, improving water and energy efficiency, creating post-harvest value through sorting, packaging, cooling, storage, and processing, and expanding market access via quality standards, food safety, certification, and exports,” she said. The GATE project extends beyond loan guarantees to include co-financed grants for climate-smart agriculture, rural infrastructure, irrigation, and water projects, alongside agricultural extension, food safety, and export support. The co-financed grant component provides up to $5,000 for individual farmers and up to $35,000 for cooperatives and farmer groups to adopt climate-smart technologies like solar energy, soil management, and organic farming. Beneficiaries must contribute a portion of the investment cost. The Ministry of Agriculture plans to launch this component in mid-October.