| Business Partners..... Working together to mutual benefit | NASFAM Commercial
NASFAM places priority on making alliances with firms that play direct buyer-seller roles in the market chain. In most cases, these alliances are with private companies that operate without donor support and are sustainable solely through the skill with which they operate their businesses. | Business Partners
Currently, companies who supply and/or purchase product from smallholders form NASFAM’s primary business alliance partners. NASFAM continues to hone its capacity to develop such relationships in ways that provide member associations with access to guaranteed markets for the products produced by their smallholders. | | “NASFAM's core business is to take its farmers up the value chain by making linkages with private sector businesses who are already operating directly within the market chain” | NASFAM Partners Fund
Where possible, NASFAM looks for market-positioned business partners that are willing to provide the technical expertise needed to support their work with NASFAM. In some cases, NASFAM business partners are willing and able to provide required technical assistance directly as part of the venture package. In other cases, partners feel that an additional level of technical support is needed in order for them to feel comfortable with the NASFAM linkage. In such cases, NASFAM will use technical support funds provided by USAID to add value to its relationships with private sector partners. | | How the Partners Fund Works | | NASFAM seeks to negotiate a venture relationship with Company X Ltd for the export of groundnuts, but Company X Ltd perceives the solution of phytosanitary concerns as a constraint to its ability to enter the NASFAM business relationship. NASFAM cuts a deal with Company X Ltd in which it agrees to support the ability of the venture to access the resources of the Partners Fund to defray the cost of necessary technical assistance, in return for Canon Garth marketing support. The NASFAM / Company X Ltd Memorandum of Understanding will reflect the contributions that each organization brings to the table and outline joint expectations and targets. As it is preparing the MOU, NASFAM also will prepare the scope of work for the levels of specialist technical support required by the venture; this SOW also will outline targets and deliverables. The technical support component will be submitted to the Fund for review, decision and monitoring. |
|
