‘ 2020 Annual Report3 Foreword 6 Supervisory Board statement 7 Our work in numbers 9 How we create pathways jobs 10 interventions 13:Job creation in the Middle East 18 Microfinance inttvions in Tunisia 21 Blended and distance education 26 Digital access finance in Rwanda 29 Summary of programmes 36 Rsk Analysis 38 Organisation 38 Growing expertise to sharpen interventions 39 Decentralising and standardising 40 Strengthening aff and partner conduct 41 COVID-proof soft care £42 Boosting digital communication 43 Finance 43 Investment Policy 43 Fraud prevention and correction 44 Board of Directors and Supervisory Beard Remuneration 45 Financial Results 48 Continuity reserve 47 Loan guarantee fund 47 Budge! Summary 48 Financial Report 2020 49 Balance Sheet 50 Statoment of Income and expenditres 51 Cath Flow Statemen’ 52 Specification and allocation ef cots according to category (Model C) 54 Accounting principles 56 Explanatory notes Balance Sheet {64 Explanatory notes Statement of Income and Expenslivre {67 Ramuneraion Exacutve Board 68 Specifications of income 70 Signatories 71 Auditor report 7 List of Abbreviations 74 Contact ‘park Aono 2020Foreword eee Cae eee became clear that the people who would be most affected by global lockdowns were the very people we support: Oe er ee eer ae ee new startups, youth with already limited job prospects. In order to safeguard higher education and jobs, and continue to grow businesses in some of the world's most vulnerable places, we had to act fast. Job opportunities are scarce in every county hat SPARK. ‘operates in, and in 2020 unemployment rates signficanly 1 of glebal economic shutdowns Throughout he year we supported the creation of over 1,535 increared due th new jobs by sealing up 675 exisling enterprises, raining 1,693 people in enirepreneurship/business sil online, and providing vidual coaching and mentorship o 2,910 entrepreneurs, ‘Access to finance remains one ofthe mos pressing challenges faced by new enterprises and keeping this access open was ccutely necessary during the pandemic. We partnered with @ number of microfinance insitutions and developed loan funds wih leading barks to provide over 1,400 sand cooperatives with he financial support hey needed, By optimising mos of our suppor for digital, our programmes became more accessible. We made a COVID-19 Survival Guide for Refugee Businesses and other helpful publications free and available, and vitual events brought entrepreneurs fogether across the world. Adjustments to our programmes and new initiatives fo respond tothe unprecedented challenges brought on by the pandemic led to some significant delays in implementation and results being achieved ond evaluated ‘park Ane Rope 2020TC) new jobs'by scaling up 675 existing enterprises.(Our operational model has been fine-tuned, ond we continue to practice localisation principles by co-creating programmes with lecel organisations businesses and (semi) governmental pariners, We de not see local organisations as suppliers, but as rue Partners, that we aim to serve end srengthen. Building on our Partners ideas, approaches and programmes isthe only way '0 create © more susisinable development impac! beyond our presence, However, intemal studies show tha here i sil 20m for sharpening our interventions ond approaches to parine's1o create an even better pathway to jobs fr vulnerable youth, Sas Looking ahead fo 2021, with hope in our hears, we plan fo return 1 some in-person programming and scale up diitalisation of our programmes, The focus on eb creation and support for entrepreneurs and businesses willbe undoubtedly greater defo the huge impact of glabal economic shutdowns. Many jabs and livelihoods will have been lot or reduced, leaving already vlnerable communities at tk of poverty, dangerous migration journeys [in search of economic opportunites) and radicalization As @leoding oxgonisation in developing economic resilience and job creation in fragile states, SPARK and is network of expert local pariners, are commited to take on the challenges tha ie head. In 2021, 2 n 2020, our objecive to co-creale new 1 more vial, and we aim fo programmes with parine:s ise sharpen our thinking and we aim to improve the way we measure the impact ofthe jobs we help crea. In 2021, the whole ‘organisation willimplement several new IT systems and we'll continue to manage programmes via our three main hubs in Istanbul, Kigali and Tunis To seale and expand our programmes ‘we will keep our focus on the twelve countries where we meintain offices, registration and presence, ‘Michel Richter, Addie van Dalen and Esther Boord of Directors, SPARK ‘park Aono 2020RT Tae omelele Cia 2020 has been a challenging year forall, including SPARK. We nevertheless look back a a year full atinnovation and fast programme adjustment Thankful, we have been able to continue supporting young students and entrepreneurs despite the pandemic The Supervisory Board (SB) wishes to express their respect for how quickly and efficienily SPARK teams have adapted. The fexibiity and cooperation of our donors and partners hos also been crucial 1 SPARK's operations throughout the yea, ond we thank them al for their continued support and trust in us to innovate in order to meet he needs of winerable youth in fragile and confct-affacted regions. SPARK is used to working in complex and fragile setings, but ravel bans, remote working and programmatic adjustments challenged the Board of Directors BoD} to find new ways align all teams together. COVID-19 catalysed the process of dgialisation of programmes in the Middle East and Africa, However, digital does have is downsides. For vulnerable youth, expecially those with refugee backgrounds, digital can even become another barrier in he patho education, entepreneurship and jobs. Now more than ever, SPARK's services inj creation higher education and SME development are needed to help young people pursue ther carers. In dune 2020, the $8 were pleared to welcome a new member, André Veneman, who brings wih him @ wealth of experience having served 12 ‘years as the chair ofthe $3 of IDH, Te Sustainable Trade Iniave, as well as corporate and NGO experience. In 202], the SB will expand forher to welcome hwo more members wth experts in finance, edveation, digitisation and decentralisation. Gaing forward, the SB will continue to guide the BoD in he development of SPARK's strategic plans inorder lo best suppor the organisation ints ambition fo become « leader in education and business development fr young people in fragile regions Hans Huygens (Chairman) (On behalf ofthe Supervisory Board, SPARK park Ane ope 2020Results 2,910 businesses received ‘coaching end mentoring 1065, scholarshi provide ry rca 28% schotorship graduates tok part in an internship* eainproe ine) Voleas si 37% scholarship graduates are now employed” Cee et ere Uren Yee een Pe eer)Where our funding comes from DANO St tCBe load to) Mission pat fy ea to jo 1s ‘SPARK develops higher education and entrepreneurship to empower young, ‘mbitious people to lead ther confct-afected societies into prosper. Vision ‘SPARK oims to become o leader within the niche of higher (vocational) education, enrepreneurship and MSME development in fragile and conflc-afected states. In the coming years SPARK will continue expanding its services inthe Middle Eas to reach more refugees ond vulnerable youth rom host nations, os wel as improve services in North and Sub-Saharan Aiea Values + Twin uso be reliable, fir and have integrity. + Ignite innovative responses othe ever changing needs of the countries we workin, + Care for who! we do and who we work with + A-can-do atttude is how we achieve our bes ests. + Courageous in who we are, what we do and whe we supper! ‘park Aono 2020DAO, Cea e CD Our model of engagement or CQurmodel of engagement in fragile and conflict-affected regions follows four steps: entry during conf! periods growh following peace setlements or sable periods; handover ence stability has occured; finally, moving on to Eryn Contict Pars heh ole hate either introducing new products in he some locations, or oct rope supporting youth in oher fragile sate. wiy lel aabldes 02 04 Move On senics eal ornare on heels el rc park Ane ope 20200 - Interventions becoming fashon des by SPARK itech programe, The following chapters ouline some of our mos! suecesstl interventions and projects from 2020. in some cares the COVID-19 pandemic fast racked our planned activites towards digtalization, such as distance learning, online marketing and ‘commerce for SMEs, However he adjustments required to deal withthe fallout from the pandemic had a significant impact on our programmes and in some cases negatively affected our abilty to reach the mos vulnerable groups inthe countries where we work These challenges are noted in the relevant chapter, In developing our programme adjustments and new responses to CCOVID-19, we analysed the environments, surveyed SMEs and students, and created an overall response strategy that informed all our programmes. This took some time -from March to August 2020 - and naturally some delays were incurred. However, no ll programmes experienced delays ond for hose where deliverables ‘were nat reached, the catch-up will take place in 2021Founder: Rawan Al Zaidy Company: Nokhla Location: Baghdad, Iraq [Nola rag’ fist agrtech compeny, using Al technology to measure soil conditions, ax wel as the humidity, temperature, water and nutrients of individual polm trees. Nakhia alto provider proning, fertilisation, covering, vaccination and harvesting services. Detpite the differing atmospherie condiions across Ira, Nola helps farmers produce higher auality dates and save on me, manpower and coss, With techrical and financial suppor from SPARK, financed by he Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affis, Nakhla is developing e mobile app tha allows farmers to upload photos of ther palm ees, which Al technology then analyses to assess what the reos need eC Re Le Re ea ke a] Cee er Cee ety the world. In the last 40 years, Iraq has lost half of its palm trees. That was our awakening point,” says 23-year-old, Rewon Al Zaidy, Administrative Director at Naha pe eeeJob creation in the Middle East fee ea ee eee Eee Seay Our efforts to create more employment opportunities in the Middle East focused con: entrepreneurship; Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) support; and job placements for refugees. In January «regional job creation programme was launched ecross Tukey, Jordan, Lebonar Iraq end Syria to boost employment for Syrian refugees and host communities by creating jabs cover the nex! four yeas. The programme design is built on five years of piloting aciviies across the Middle East and an extensive co-creaton process with local portner organisations and donors. There are four main pillars Skil-up Match-up; Star-up; and Scale-up, Scale-up Jobs are created by sealing grovih-oriented SME* through coaching and facilitating better ‘accesso finance and makes. rireproneurs emerge by making euricula more rmarket-elevant and inkrodvcing entrepreneurship training Start-up Jobs are created by supporting promising, high-potential entrepreneurs with coaching and accesso finance and marke Match-up. Enabling youth to access jobs rough marke-rlevan (higher) vocational edveation ond internships/ traineeships. ‘park Aono 2020eTOCs Despite early dfiuhies in nding a suitable microfinance institution In Lebanon, 219 students completed a combination of soft, digital panes, we worked wih Microfund for Women to sippor! 300 SMEs and entreprenevsial skill taining through the Maser projec, an cand home-based businesses [HBBs) in Jordan wit technical assistance inte by our poriner Ijaz Lebanon and Kiron internatonal to scale-up their businesses and to buld resilience in response to Following this, 18 students atended an online entrepreneurship CCOVID-19, Assistance included coaching and advisory services related bootcamp a! he Lebanese International University (UU). This to marketing, access 0 [ntemational) markets, new product vitmatly resulted in sx star-ups being supported with coaching development, nancial management, imovation and adjustments in and mentoring from our pariner Berytech. operations in exponse lo COVID-19 “Jusoor is proud to have partnered with SPARK for three years now with our annual Roadshow, supporting Syrian and host community entrepreneurs and small business owners across the Middle East. This year, due to COVID, we had to take our programme online, which actually enabled us to reach more people, especially in remote areas - we registered cover 6,000 people for the bootcamp phase! SPARK is an partner, always willing to listen and adapt and provide support where needed.” Mrs. Grace Atkinson, Executive Director, Jusoor Entrepreneurship development parinerin the Middle EasLear) POC Ca oy Businesses ae increasingly asking for our suppor in access to e-commerce and other online sales opportunities, In 2020, in cooperation wth Hepsiburada.com - a leeding Turkish online marketplace - we helped register 13 SMEs and women-owned HBS tothe e-commerce platform, providing enrepreneuts (particularly Syrian refugee-owned businesses) with new sales channels te grow and safeguard jobs within their busines, Almost 1,100 entrepreneurs across the Middle Eat received supportte start and /or register their new businesses and 83 startups were newly established. Our partner, ineluding BINA, Jus09" and the Mierofund for Women, were abe to reach out to 136% more enrepraneurs than planned by moving their outreach and taining online, However, we faced significant delays in contracting pariners in Jordan and an ongoing legal clspute with a formerly contracted pariner Internships provide students with skill sets required for decen ‘employment and complement their academic theoretical knowledge with he practical sil and work experience often required by employers. Working with our partners, who ineluded United Work Turkey) he Lebanese International University (Lebanon, Smithson (ral, The Station Foundation (rag) and Point (Iraq), we matched 179 refugee and locel youth o job placements and internships in 2020. Our partners, including BINA, Jusoor and the Microfund for Women, were able to reach out to 136% more entrepreneurs than planned by moving their outreach park Ae Rope 2020Ot) Ono "We have had a great experience working with SPARK in delivering programmes that not only support existing SMEs, but also allow youth to take important steps in their careers through digital internships. This pilot has also allowed us to identify key areas where we can work to ensure that both companies and graduates can realise the valve and potential for comprehensive internships. We are really excited to see how ‘we can build on these preliminary steps through future collaboration to continue supporting the Iraqi private sector, as well as the different communities across the country." Me. Ashley Berlow, Programmes ‘Manager, The Station Foundation for Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship development Parner in og However, we were only able fo reach 30% ofthe original target for internships in 2020, This i largely due othe impact of CCOVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings in workplaces, as well 12+ companies choosing Io safeguard ther cutrent operations and not hire new soft, Where possible, we faciltaed digital internshipe and job placements wih SMEs already supported by one of our programmes, which har proven tobe a successful model. In hoa, for exemple, within a week of opening digital internships postions, over 8,500 students had applied. The Station Foundation worked closely wih univerty career centes and shorted a pool of S00 candidates forthe pilot. We were able o place 30 students in Agia! internships within local SMEs, and our partners (including ‘The Station Foundation, Smithson end Poin developed @ preliminary ist of international businesses interested in hosing interns a thei workplaces, The enormaus interes rom young people 1 participate, and positive responces from companies show that even in these challenging times, on-the-job wor experience opportunities ae vital, The digital internships ore continuing ito 2021, when the ull impact will be assessed Throughov! 2020 we invested heavily in telloving our services better fo Syrian entrepreneurs and students. Outeach, training sessions, materials and coaching are now delivered in Arabic, English and Turkish, We have azo expanded our team wih private sector and finance specialists, many of whom are Syrian entrepreneurs, who provide technical support to our partners, park Anea ope 2020Name: Nour Elhouda Occupation: Translator Location: Istanbul, Turkey Nour came to Turkey in 2012 from Syria, In 2016, she ervalled ot Hatay Mustafa Kemal University to study nursing with a scholarship fom SPARK and the Evropean Union. Aer graduating in 2020 she was matched to jal that uses her language skis in Turkish, Arabic and English, She now works 08 @ GeO LPC RCC Cat cu acy tronlotr fr Euro-Eetk, © mesicel company thal rains cee nee international health and cosmetic care students, She g SG Dp Pe a eee ec ke trorslotes orkeles, lve presentaions and conferences Her background in nursing is highly relevant a she says Nour, who sees this ob as a erucial step in her career path Understands the medical terminology used , i ,Re agelicteiFiiie ee Meet] ee sustained 461 jobs during COVID As job creation throughout 2020 decreased due to the pandemic, SPARK’s focus in North Africa shifted towards helping entrepreneurs maintain existing jobs ‘and shoring up the supperting networks that provide services to entrepreneurs, such as business support institutions and incubators. In Turisia, where SPARK suppers housands of entrepreneurs, start-ups, existing businesses and business incubators, it was clear rom various surveys conducted by our local pariner ‘organisations in 2020 that one ofthe most urgent needs was the evilabilty of iquilty, access to loans and other Financing ‘opportinities, The COVID-19 pandemic treatened to destabilize many MSMEs and therefore many thousands of obs In response, SPARK portnered withthe leading llamic rmierefinance isituton {MFI} in Tunisia, Ztoune Tarnkeen, whose Funding approach is dlferent rom Vodtional MFIs Ihis based on supporting young entrepreneurs in selecting their suppliers, providing them with equipment and looking for the bes vale for money products. Ths perinership developed and strengthened value chain projects, provided loans for exiting and new MSME® in Five cites (Selina, Gober, Sfax, Kebil and Sibi Bouzid), and ensured that companies received appropriate coaching over six months, ‘park Aono 2020PTE LORS Oe RCI “When we talk about COVID-19 in Tunisia, we must mention directly the increased unemployment rate that is expected to reach 20%. Unemployment and poverty are, in my opinion, the biggest social dilemmas. We are really happy and proud of the partnership with SPARK. Its global objective is to provide financial support to small businesses impacted by COVID-19. SPARK is a very serious and innovative NGO and their team has shown swiftness and agility to assist us through a multi-outcome project, which will positively impact entrepreneurs during this critical period.” ‘Me. Nabil Kasraoui, CEO of Zitouna Tamkeen Microfinance insivion pariner in Tunisia The rests exceeded all our expectations: 266 loans were provided Jo youth and 92 (25%) loans were awarded to women-owned MSMEs. This led tothe growih of 350 MSMEs, including 95 [27%) women-owned. 8 new MSMEs were created, hal of them women-owned, Up 0 378 jobs were created, while 461 jabs were tuslained throughout the mos ertcal lockdown period. Ztouna Tatnkeen funded small and micro enterprises witha total amount of £€800,928 84 {with an average loan size of €2,200). ‘he pilot partnership with Ztoune Tamkeen has been @ great success as it responded to the needs of business owners with o complete package tha! includes tailored 1 en technical kl, a8 wal a the funaing to expand businesses, SPARK will build on this programme into 202) by working with 3 MFls in Tis ‘park Aono 2020Founder: Maher Bayaoui Company: Mini Market Location: Sidibouzid, Tunisia Wih the onset of he COVID-19 pandemic, Moher needed to mitigate is economic effec on his business and diversify his inventory, which was mostly food products, With the support of a loan from SPARK's microfinance perier, Ztoune Tarkeen, he began stocking and selling personal protective equipment and cleaning products. Maher elzorecsived tailored coaching on managing stock and daily operations. For me, owning a misimarke is very challenging, You rust say all the needs of diferent clens. Ztouna Tamkeen has supported me in achieving this goal COME CeCe ee hd CS Oe Soo oe Re eta says Maher Bayaoui, owner of « minimarketn a vulnerable Pere pe eee- Blended and online education ere ‘The COVID-19 pandemic demanded an adjusted approach in the realm of higher education, with an emphasis on online and distance learning. We worked closely and quickly with our university partners to ensure teaching and scholarship activities could be continued digitally. [As many countries around the world began to lockdown in March, we conducted an extensive survey of our student alm in orderto assess the accesso online education. The results found that almost 80% had no experience wit online learning, with 44%: asking for more academic support and 40% asking for prychosocial support. Compared to other Middle East counties, sdents in Turkey had considerably better access to regular internet connection (81% and internet-enabled devices (742 of students have a smariphone). This survey and lscussions wih our pariers, led fo some serious programmatic shifts in order to respond to rapidly changing needs. Exomples ofthese shits are oulned in the following paragraphs, In Lebanon, daily psychosocial support via online video conferencing connecied students wit @ cerified peychologis, sho delivered group sessions in wellbeing, coping wih ‘anxiety ond depression, mindulness techniques and ime management. One student said, "I helps us fo fellow our studies in these dificult circumstances, and relieve the psychelogicel presse tha! we migh feel 2s we ave always busy with studying for our lectures.” ‘spark Anoop 2020CUT EY RLY Rent rtd) Over 300 Iraqi professors, fom universities including Erbil Polytechnic Univetsiy and the Universiy of Mosul in Ira, attended SPARK's sesions on online learning. This resulted inthe fist online classes end exams inthe history of lag ‘Across the Middle Eas, similar sesions were organised to boost lecturer’ and professor ski in online teaching, which hos benefited knowledge sharing and boosted the clgjtal literacy ofinstutions In Turkey, we took swift aeton in coordination withthe European Union to purchase hardware and software, including computers, ervers and distance learning platforms, for aur seven university pariners: University of Mersin University; Mustafa Kemal Ataturk University; Kahramanmaras Sutguimam University; Harran University, Kil 7 Aralic Univesity; Osmaniye Korkut Alo University. In adcition, we donated laptops and tablets to the most vulnerable students ~ those from low income Fomiles and those with disobilties - 10 they could have the bert chance to eveceed during COVID-19. As ares the number of Turkish university students hat ettended online education increased to 16,600. TT Grae alle | Ecole EMlUre(te| forms of learning, elma m i bg replacing in-person teaching altogether.Blended and online education ae) is Ce ences oa miss anything. Everything is recorded so even. Ae ee ees eu Lneny ee a ny for studying because | used tetravel to attend classes. This took a lof ef time. New with CO eeu oC See However, this shit fo online and blended forms of learning ‘was not always avick or easy. For example, inthe Kurdiston Region of rag, the postponement ofthe academic year by the government meant that we faced delays inthe enrolment of scholarship students in 2020, The hardware ond software ‘equipment donations in Trkey were plagued by complicated procurement processes, and in Lebaron the ongoing economic collapse end hyperinfation led the devaluation of our scholarships and financial pends. These Financial ses, politcal unvest and the Beirut explosion in ‘August, which damaged SPARK's Lebanon ofice, le significant delays in providing the much needed financial ‘and educational support to youth, ‘Adltionaly, we found that many vulnerable yout, expecially those living in refugee camps, are excluded from sducaton as they lack access to hardware, song internet or viable study environments. This is creating divisions between poorer and wealthier groups, With this in mind, SPARK is working towards blended forms of learning, rat than fully replacing in-persen teaching altogether. Blended education may even have the capacty fo integrate mo vulnerable groups, such as women, who might lack access to safe or reliable transportation, for example. park Anea ope 2020Blended and online education (Our scholarship programme remains one of he larges! providers of scholarships for Syria ofthe year 1,422 students were encallad in Bachelors and TVET scholarships thal inelude financial stipends and Wuiton Fees, and 903, ofthese students graduated. New partnerships with universities serving fragile regions, including the University of Meu! in Iraq, wore inated in 2020 and became fruitful in early 202 1 in the Middle East. Over the course ur continued supper fr nline education focuses on ining professors in online and blended learing: providing echnical equipment and sofware to students (especialy refugees and vulnerable suden!s unable to ahewise study online) ond Universes og. apiop, servers and online learning platerms) improving curcula of TVET istions and universes o enhance the labour marke! conection; connecting higher education instttions with each o providing support and guidance for (digil) internships; seting up programmes for academic counseling and psychosocial support In his way, not only can education systems and new generations cope with he current situation, they can alse become more resent, “Having worked under the unfortunate and challenging circumstances that Lebanon has recently witnessed, we at CIS have gained better knowledge of our NGO partners. During these times ‘we have grown closer to SPARK and the team responsible for the management of our project. We had to work closely together to ns for many of our problems and I believe we have successfully done so. The flexibility and responsiveness offered by the SPARK team made it all possible. We hope to continue our joint efforts and achieve further successes, impacting many more lives.” Dr. Wael Mekdach, Vice President of CIS College cation perner in Lebaron park Ane ope 2020Name: Mohammed Yousef Kinat Occupation: Engineer Location: Gaziantep, Turkey During his nel year of studies, Mohommed Participated in SPARK’s envepreneucship programme to support students wih business ideas. His idea won funding, which helped him to start © compeny het simultaneously designs and prototypes engineering predvels, He now has more than five clients, and alse ‘works as an engineerin a factory where he applies hit skills designing new machines. EEOC U Cas [teachers] didn’t leave us alone. While online education was going on, they were giving us new assignments. Exams were continuing and DRC e oa r Mohammed Yousef Kinatarived in Gaziantep in 2013 from Syria He received a scholarship from SPARK and the European Union to ee eee eterBTM eR CM MM Aa celiTs(o] PO emer oe aati Historically the production levels of rural smallholder farmers (SHFs) in Sub-Saharan Africa have been impacted by limited access to markets and agricultural inputs (e.g. fertiliser, quality seeds). In Rwanda, where farming is the most important economic activity, and ‘with the added challenges of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, it was even more urgent for SPARK to roll-out its planned solution: « digital loan platform. The platform was designed in collaboration with Equity Sank, ‘Aecoss fo Finance Rwanda, and bull on MeneyPhone’s loan origination technology It provides Rwandan Irish potato farming cooperatives end SHFs with digital loans, lower interest rates and dusted collateral requirements via mobile phones. The platform hat enabled 296 SHFs, including B4 women, to access digital bank accounts, contal heir own finances, create bonkable data, cut travel costs and decrease transactional delays Ih sas iially dificult f find a commited microfinance pa extra motivation to serve unlanked farmer. The programme instttion (Mi wih, MFls ar risk averse and nod asked for two big advstments rom the MI: o trust farmer's historical data and to use © gigital loan origination tool. A loan guarantee fund (GF) was needed to build tus in the programme, so SPARK's [GF agreed to do-tsk he loans by 100% inthe ist intake and 60% in the second, ‘spark Anoop 2020Dr ee RR Sac) Ce roam eet rate.” Being able'to apply for a loan through her phone.allowed Hilarie fo save time and money on travelfo thé city, and the interest rate on her new Pe ean ec eet “1 bollght good quality seeds, pesticide and | was able td pay the labour of five people’. Ce cee eee) However, ence the programme was aperational, Equity Bank provided loons in December 2020. The automated processes, ‘administration and distribution of money via mobile meant the bank was able to offer decreased loan interes rates fort SHFs, Besides reduced interest rates, the loans are more inclsive and accessible as farmers ae scored by the bank on their historical records of supply atthe co-operatives. Ths replae the bank's collaterl requirements, which are often unrealistic for SHFs. Ths type of data collection, in combination with the central role of he co-operative is new in wand, and a shit inthe formal financial sector towards © more inclusw Digitelistion is © behaviour-change process that needs contextvel understanding to dive uptake. Inielly we found that farmers and co-operatives were dirrustul of he digital platform, By upshiling 1) "Youth Fellows’ and & coaches, they were able to address digi literoey among SHFs and change mindsets towards he use of technology. (Over the year 7,487 SHFs rom 64 co-operatives were also ‘rained in governance, leadership and business sil, which resulted in an exponential growh in membership from 15,000 to 26,875 members. Co-operatives with enhanced marke! positions were then able ‘o manage thir own lsh potato collection centres, which increased the supply to market by 25 times compared fo two years ago {15,773 tons in 2018 to 418,674 tons in 2020} park Aono 7Dre eR OUR SL) “Working with SPARK has been a rewarding journey and taught us that the success of any project depends on a consortium of experienced organisations pooling resources together to achieve common objectives.” Eric Musizana, Project Officer, Agriculture & Rural Finance, {Access to Finance Rwanda Donor of SPARK in Rwanda The fll scale af he impact of hese digital solutions continues fo be measured into 2021, but there has been @ marked increase in ust between SHFs and Mfls like Equity Bank, Farmers and cooperatives are now operating 0s businesses wth strong formal market relations and improved access to information on price and market demand, ‘park Aono 2020aL Summary of programmes 2012020 ‘Akoxi Kena Dich Mitr of Fosign enon 2020-2024 eas Fond ater Edvcatan, 2020-2021 iyo sy fed and Srdyeuh om eal tas The ng tm cre de (oleae ef Tobooste i Promiang taupe andenstg anaes wih eee eared ilps comm ‘aye4ns acteng lag tarloman idee tet beet treed eee ble student hey ber eca to be boat eta areca roses sla rong 29 aan provded/ocitoted or Teen ene {et acres condaced 254 youth evoled in VET ‘park Aono 2020Summary of programmes = oe ovation cass Thao wanda Ertepeneip 2019-2022 Scenic atewch iron) menor te eenip 2017-2020 Unaed EUMADAD EU MADAD Find wre, Hobe 20v2020 NCE/HES Fen (ed Cnet Mave eee eee fe proaton extn scames ond bby for ie eee ad oeece ae eles ded eee ‘rrereresipin Sia (10), Key 2020 Reso as beracines paripted n Solera ceed nent apemees eer 394 sudan coved wet 517 ders radia 90 sede fed en otortip ‘park Aono 2020