Agriculture employs a large share of the workforce across Africa, yet lenders still struggle to serve it profitably. Seasonal income, weather exposure, weak collateral and thin records push many institutions toward either excessive caution or poorly priced risk. Value-chain approaches change the picture by using the relationships between buyers, processors, input suppliers and farmers to improve information, repayment discipline and market access.

The Leadership and Performance in Agri-Finance & Value-Chain Lending Training Course connects technical lending skills with the management behaviours that drive results. Early sessions analyse commodity chains, farm economics and the risks at each link. Participants then practise appraisal and structuring, including repayment schedules matched to harvest, crop and livestock insurance, guarantees, collateral substitutes and digital delivery channels. The second half focuses on leading the lending function: translating strategy into branch and officer targets, reading portfolio reports, coaching staff in the field, and managing conduct and client protection.

Learning relies on real-style loan files, chain maps and portfolio extracts. Each participant leaves with a performance plan for their own team or unit.

After completing the programme, participants will be able to:

• Map an agricultural value chain and locate the credit needs and risks at each stage.
• Appraise farm and agribusiness cash flows using seasonal repayment capacity analysis.
• Structure value-chain finance, including warehouse receipts, outgrower and input credit models.
• Use insurance, guarantees and alternative collateral to manage agricultural credit risk.
• Monitor portfolio quality through portfolio at risk, concentration and seasonal arrears measures.
• Set clear performance targets and incentives for loan officers and branches.
• Coach field staff on client visits, follow-up and early collection.
• Embed ethical conduct and client protection into lending decisions.

The programme is aimed at managers and specialists who lead or support lending to agriculture, including:

• Heads of agribusiness and agricultural lending
• Bank branch managers in rural and peri-urban areas
• Credit officers and credit risk analysts
• Microfinance institution and SACCO managers
• Cooperative and farmer-organisation managers
• Development finance and donor programme officers
• Agribusiness processors and aggregators managing buyer credit
• Field supervisors and team leaders in lending units

Participants take away:

• A seasonal cash-flow appraisal template adaptable to several crops and livestock enterprises.
• A value-chain financing map for one commodity of their choice.
• A portfolio dashboard outline with the arrears and concentration indicators that matter.
• A target-setting and incentive framework for lending officers.
• A coaching conversation guide for field visits and follow-up.
• A personal leadership plan for improving performance in their own unit.

The programme balances credit technique with leadership practice, using:

• Loan files and chain maps drawn from crop, livestock and agro-processing settings
• Spreadsheet-based cash-flow exercises completed in pairs
• Portfolio report clinics where groups diagnose problems and propose actions
• Role plays on coaching officers and handling arrears conversations
• Peer exchange on challenges in participants' own institutions

Participants who attend every session and complete the exercises receive a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion, issued by Vision Reach Global Consultancy to recognise their professional development.