The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in partnership with Togo’s Ministry of Agriculture, has launched a capacity-building initiative aimed at improving access to finance for agricultural entrepreneurs through a digital business planning tool.
The initiative, rolled out through training sessions held in Lomé last week, introduces RuralInvest, a system designed to help farmers and agribusiness operators develop structured, lender-ready business plans.
According to organisers, the tool combines specialised software with technical support to improve the quality of investment proposals submitted to financial institutions.
“RuralInvest is primarily designed to produce bankable business plans,” said trainer Oscar Ogoutolou during the training sessions.
He explained that the platform is based on field-level data collection, allowing users to ground project proposals in real production conditions rather than theoretical assumptions.
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The system also enables users to adjust technical and financial parameters according to local constraints, making it adaptable to different agricultural contexts and business models.
“All the sections can be adapted as needed,” Ogoutolou said, highlighting the flexibility of the tool in responding to varying project requirements.
Beyond business plan development, RuralInvest also supports remote collaboration between stakeholders, allowing project developers, advisers and financial partners to exchange information across locations, including cross-border cooperation.
The FAO says the tool is already being used in several West African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso and Senegal, where it has been deployed to strengthen agricultural investment planning and improve access to credit.
In Togo, authorities hope the rollout will help address one of the key constraints facing the agricultural sector: limited access to affordable financing due to weak project preparation and perceived investment risks.
Officials say many agricultural projects fail to secure funding because applications often lack sufficient technical detail, financial structure or credible data on expected returns.
By standardising business planning and improving the quality of submissions, RuralInvest is expected to enhance the ability of farmers and agribusinesses to engage with banks and development finance institutions.
At the same time, the tool is intended to strengthen the capacity of technicians and financial institutions to assess project viability, potentially reducing the risk of loan defaults and improving overall investment efficiency.
Agriculture remains a critical sector for Togo’s economy, employing a large share of the population and playing a central role in food security and rural livelihoods.
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However, limited access to credit has long been identified as a barrier to productivity growth, particularly for small-scale farmers and emerging agribusinesses.
Development partners say digital tools such as RuralInvest could help bridge the gap between informal agricultural activity and formal financial systems by improving transparency and standardisation.
The initiative also aligns with broader regional efforts to modernise agriculture across West Africa, where governments and institutions are increasingly turning to digital solutions to improve efficiency and attract private investment.
As implementation expands in Togo, stakeholders will be watching to see whether improved project design translates into higher approval rates for agricultural financing and stronger investment flows into rural areas.
If successful, the programme could help strengthen the country’s agricultural value chains while supporting broader goals of rural development and economic transformation.
