Exim Bank inks MoU with Indesso and Amani Essence to promote agriculture development in Tanzania

Exim Bank Tanzania has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indesso and Amani Essence to cooperate in promoting agriculture sector development in Tanzania.

The MoU that was signed on the sidelines of the Indonesia- Tanzania Business Forum held in Dar es Salaam yesterday aligns with Tanzania’s agriculture sector ‘Ajenda 10/30’ that seeks to attain an impressive 10 percent annual growth rate for the sector by 2030.

Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony, the Exim Bank Retail Head Andrew Lyimo said the move is a significant step towards value addition and empower clove dealers with easy access to credit.

“As per the MoU , Exim Bank will be a working capital financier to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) dealing in processing of cloves leaves to extract and refine essential oil that will later be exported to Indonesia,” said Lyimo.

Lyimo said the bank is committed to support the development of the agribusiness sector across the country adding that it will provide finance for the purchase of the field distillation units (FDU) that will extract the essential oil from the clove leaves.

He said that before, the fallen clove leaves had no use and were treated as waste adding that with the new breakthrough, farmers dealing in clove production can convert their fallen leaves into money.

“Clove farmers will now be able to furnish the leaves and sell them at a price to an SME with a field distillation unit to extract essential oil” he said.

Lyimo stressed that the bank will continue investing in the development of the agribusiness and the agriculture sector as a whole.

“This new partnership will start in the regions of Tanga and Morogoro and compliments the ongoing efforts by the sixth phase Government to support development of the agriculture sector to its full potential,” he stressed.

He re-affirmed that bank will continue working closely with players in the agriculture sector value-chain to contribute to the development of Tanzania’s agriculture sector through lending and investment.

“As a bank, we are devoted to providing innovative financing mechanisms to provide SMEs dealing with processing of cloves access to customized finance solutions and ensure they increase production. We believe our efforts will go a long way in increasing their income levels,” he added.

The Indesso Director Feri Agustain during the event said “Indesso is pleased to strengthen our partnership with Exim Bank as we look to support a sustainable agriculture sector in Tanzania.

Agustain said scaling up partnership with Exim Bank is key to developing innovative financial solutions that facilitate clove farmers’ access to finance.