BDS

Congratulations to everyone involved in the launch of United Business Support Professionals Ltd. in Uganda.

The AMEA Kenya Local Network has launched the Kenya BDS Vision Handbook and a 2026 Catalytic Event Concept Note, setting out a coordinated, standards-driven roadmap to turn Business Development Services into measurable jobs, incomes, and growth for Kenya’s agri-SMEs and farmer organisations.

Over three years, Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) achieved a breakthrough in business development services delivery—creating a tiered BDS model that generated exceptional returns while reaching over 1,200 agri-SMEs across four regions and twelve value chains. With an 18:1 ROI on revenue increases and 84:1 ROI on capital mobilized, the ATI AgriHub program demonstrates how strategic segmentation and diagnostic-led approaches can revolutionize SME support systems, delivering ETB 3.16 billion in finance access while creating sustainable employment across Ethiopia’s agricultural sector.

AMEA ended the event with the launch of the AMEA Toolbox Guide 2025. The AMEA Toolbox is a collection of peer reviewed tools that are highly aligned to ISO 18716. These tools enable SMEs to build a performance track record which is useful to accessing new markets and new finance. The inter-operability of these tools has developed and examples are included in the Guide.

We continued the Ethiopian theme as we launched the IFC-Soufflet Ethiopia Case Study which documents the latest phase in IFC’s decade long support to the barley value chain. IFC’s Agribusiness Leadership Program was highly valued but it was the whole package of support that enabled the SMEs to rapidly grow their business.

Data is also valuable for Segmenting and Tailoring BDS for the SME market.The Agri-SME Learning Collective (ASLC) has proposed moving beyond use of traditional business size/stage criteria

The next session considered Local BDS Market Development. It is clear we share the same problem analysis and to some extent we know what we need to do. We should therefore have a shared vision for a mature BDS market and shorter-term investment priorities that move the local BDS market in this direction.

It is clear that Government plays a critical enabling role where they can jumpstart processes, but BDS markets cannot be solved by Government alone.

The vital role of Government was highlighted and this led on to a session examining Uganda and Tanzania’s work on BDS certification. This work is anchored in key Ministries, backed by research which confirms the weaknesses of BDS markets. The Governments’ response includes the development of BDS Strategic Frameworks, BDS Guidelines and draft Certification systems.

Harrison Kaziro opened up the discussion by presenting National BDS Accreditation Frameworks as being essential for improving BDS service quality. He outlined the fragmented nature of current BDS delivery and proposed a systematic approach to standardizing and coordinating services. A tiered BDS certification system backed by sustainable financing was proposed. This system should be developed in phases based on the available resources and capacity.

A new AMEA-supported case study reveals how innovative approaches can unlock over $4 million in agricultural credit while achieving 95% repayment rates.
Agriculture in West Africa faces a persistent challenge: smallholder farmers struggle to access the financial services they need to grow their businesses and improve their livelihoods. In Benin, this reality has kept countless producers trapped in cycles of low productivity and limited market access.