During May, Crimson provided technical advisory services to support improved access to finance for selected value chains as part of the USAID-funded Rural Finance Initiative (RFI) in Colombia. RFI has the overall goal of improving inclusive financial intermediation for micro, small and medium sized producers and businesses in selected conflictive areas.

Crimson support included:

• Design and implementation of a training program on agricultural and Value Chain Finance (VCF) mechanisms, including the business case for VCF; VCF financial products; Risk Management; and Costs & Returns.
• Design of a rapid assessment tool for financial services demand and opportunities, covering value chain sector analysis; analysis of available financing; strategy formulation; implementation; and monitoring.
• Development of recommendations on structuring specific VCF financial product mechanisms, with a focus on working-capital products.