BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING: HOW THE AECF CAN HELP GRANTEES AND HOW GRANTEES CAN HELP THE AECF AECF Conference August, Nairobi Michael Baxter, Chair Investment Committee

THE AECF UNIVERSE  185 grants awarded, totaling $137 m; $374 m in matching funds  10 projects closed  171 other grants contracted or about to be  4 projects on hold or not contracted  Portfolio quality satisfactory given risk realities BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

THE 185 GRANTEES REPRESENT…  8 windows with16 competitions over 5 years  23 countries  Kenya 34, Tanzania 32, Zimbabwe 21, Mozambique 23: 60% of grantees  Somalia 9, Uganda 8, Sierra Leone 8, S Sudan 7, DRC 6, Nigeria 5: 23%  Burundi 4, Rwanda 4, Zambia 4, Ghana 3, Malawi 3, South Africa 3: 11%  I or 2: Burkina, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Liberia, Mali: 6%  5 sectors  Agribusiness: 68% of projects  Renewable energy: 17%  Financial services: 7%  Adaptation to climate change: 5%  Information: 3% BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

WHY AECF ALUMNI ARE SPECIAL  AECF “alumni” are almost 200 successful entrepreneurs in over half of Sub-Sahara Africa’s countries  They have extensive knowledge of technology, policies, operating environments and markets  Their successful private sector focus on productivity and employment creation, innovation and system change at this scale and extent is unique  Their experience can be a great source of knowledge for current and future alumni – and for all others involved in growth and food security in Africa  Their experience can guide the rural value chain – and the AECF BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

WHY B2B LEARNING IS IMPORTANT  Individuals learn best from others who have had similar experiences – especially if they have moved through them successfully  Best learning is demand-driven and self-paced  Being a teacher is the best way to learn  The business environment of the African rural market is more complex that what most formal learning offers BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

AECF SUPPORT OF B2B LEARNING  AECF B2B facilitation  3 annual conferences  Business Plan selection meetings  Window start-up (M&E) workshops  Ad hoc contacts within Windows  Introductions from Fund Manager  AECF B2B support appreciated but sub-optimal  Limited opportunities and occurrences  Many grantees do not attend annual conferences  Ad hoc encounters predominate  Within an unknown universe of grantees  Without awareness of grantees’ common interests or needs  Opportunities for growth and success are missed  B2B learning built on what grantees and AECF want can help both BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

KEYS TO USEFUL B2B LEARNING  Relevance: addresses priority, practical needs  Availability: available as and when needed  Comprehensibility: readily understood and implementable  Accessibility: open to anyone, even if “relevance” not obvious  Mind-opening: expands knowledge, introduces new ideas  Self-managed: participants identify and develop topics  Joint accountability: participants and system management accountable for the success and impact of B2B learning BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

SETTING UP A B2B LEARNING SYSTEM  Establish interest of all parties (here, AECF and grantees)  Form representative working group to review  specific areas of interest for both parties, likely sources of information  suggests suitable learning system/s and operational protocols  learning options include face-to-face and active/passive web-based systems  Set preliminary agenda of grantee issues to address, e.g.  responding to AECF objectives – poverty reduction, innovation, systemic change  technical, at sector and subsector levels  policy, especially within countries or regions  market access, domestic and international  Policies and regulations  access to finance and growing a business  business planning  AECF administrative needs BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

PASSIVE WEB-BASED OPTION  Give grantees access to basic information on all grantees  By sector  By country  Summary project information  Contact information  Leave with grantees to initiate contact  Issues to address, even with a passive web system  Privacy – can grantees opt out?  Data accuracy – how can grantees confirm/correct data?  Coverage – all projects or only active projects?  Access – can grantees access all info or only concerned sector/country, and third- party/commercial access to data?  Cost – managing costs within AECF budget BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

ACTIVE WEB-BASED OPTION  Combine passive/active measures  Options for active system  Introduce grantees of similar interests  Have active country/sector sub-groups  Enable grantees to seek info from others  Share grantee-submitted information  Share AECF-generated information (funding sources, progress reports, policy developments, useful links, etc.)  Facilitate conversations among grantees  Have active business support links  Complement with individual/group face-to-face contact  Active system needs part-time experienced facilitator BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

ANY WEB-BASED SYSTEM MUST BE…  Responsive to grantee interests – and be used  Able to operate with minimal support  Based on up-to-date, in-demand grantee and other information  Subject to monitoring and improvement  Low-cost to set-up and operate BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

AECF GAINS FROM B2B LEARNING  Channel for administrative communication (e.g., financial management, M&E, new competitions)  Can promote business-strengthening support:  additional finance and growth options  learning from other windows, unusual technology and approaches  share useful articles, papers, results  Can learn from grantee challenges and successes - to share and use as input into competition design  Can introduce topics for feedback on program design BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014

NEXT STEPS  Decide if a passive or dynamic web-based system  Either way, AECF to commit to start-up investment  Set up working group of four/five grantees and the AECF to define chosen option, define governance and guide start-up  If web-based, employ for initial period part-time facilitator familiar with such systems to get system operational BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) LEARNING, AECF CONFERENCE, 28 AUGUST 2014