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Private Sector Partnership

Until February 2025, Ndarama Works was part of the technical leadership team of the USAID funded Africa Trade and Investment project, which had a budget of $520 million and operated in  52  African  countries.  Ndarama  Works contributed Senior Technical Leadership for the entire continental initiative, trade research and  investment  specialists,  and  market systems  development  experts  to  support private sector engagement, and enabling over 200 African firms, from micro-enterprises to large manufacturers, to attract investment and enhance their global competitiveness.

In Liberia, Ndarama Works supported six incubators to assist over 180 youth – and women-owned agricultural micro and small enterprises. Ndarama Works also leads intra- Africa and Africa to U.S. export trade working with more than 175 export firms and has facilitated over $1.7 billion in exports.

Our Work

Africa Trade and Investment

Ndarama Works strategically develops mechanisms enabling African exporters to scale their exports in to the U.S. market and increase U.S. investments into Africa. It achieves this through the Africa Trade and Investment Activity, funded by Prosper Africa and USAID.

THE CHALLENGE

  • Underutilization of trade preference provisions under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and other trade opportunities between Africa and the U.S.
  • Underdeveloped trade ecosystems limiting the effective harnessing of Africa’s unique products in global markets.
  • Limited capital flows from the U.S. to Africa, and limited availability of local African venture capital.

OUR SOLUTION

Targeting multiple stakeholders in the trade and investment ecosystem, Ndarama Works:

  • Raises awareness and delivers trade and investment opportunities.
  • Provides expert advisory services, helping to identify and develop manufacturing firms in high-potential sectors.
  • Develops detailed designs to foster trade ecosystem development and partnerships with key market actors
  • Structures results-driven partnerships with private sector actors to negotiate and implement trade and investment deals, fostering sustainable partnerships.
  • Provides comprehensive transaction support, including deal structuring, due diligence, capacity and advisory support, and contract negotiation.
  • Implements a robust MEL system to track progress, identify challenges, and make informed decisions.

By 2024, the project facilitated a projected $4,000,000,000 in exports ($1.2 billion deals closed to date), facilitated a projected

$3,000,000,000 in investments ($1.6 billion closed to date), raised awareness of AGOA and other trade opportunities, and enhanced market access for African businesses by supporting 180 businesses to exhibit their products in the U.S.

Our Staff

Nico Christoforou

Finance and Investment Specialist

Cosmas Mamhunze

Regional Portfolio Manager

Theodros Wossenyeleh

Trade Advisor

Christopher Knoetze

Trade Research Specialist

Market-Driven Irrigated Horticulture

Ndarama Works is driving economic growth in rural Lesotho by facilitating sustainable, inclusive commercial agriculture under the project. Through strategic partnerships and capacity building, the Transaction Advisory team ensures that investments benefit women, youth, and the rural poor while establishing robust models for irrigation, water resource, and land management.

THE CHALLENGE

The primary development problem addressed by the MDIH project is the underutilization of agricultural potential in Lesotho, which is characterized by a lack of modern irrigation infrastructure, fragmented landholdings, and limited support for farmers.

This has resulted in low agricultural productivity, high reliance on food imports, and limited economic opportunities for rural populations, especially women and youth.

  • Fragmented Land Holdings
  • Lack of Irrigation Infrastructure
  • Limited Farmer Support Services
  • Dependence on Food Imports
  • Barriers to Private Sector Investment

 

OUR SOLUTION

Ndarama’s Transaction Advisory Team is focused on facilitating sustainable agricultural development by enabling partnerships between local landholders and commercial investors, coordinating legal and institutional frameworks, and promoting inclusive economic growth. The aim is to ensure that investments in irrigation and agricultural infrastructure are effectively leveraged to maximize the economic potential of Lesotho’s horticulture sector while ensuring that the interests of local communities, particularly vulnerable groups, are safeguarded.

  • Land Consolidation and Legal Frameworks
  • Facilitation of Agreements for Irrigation Infrastructure
  • Commercial Partnerships, Capacity Building
  • Stakeholder Engagement, Decision Making
  • Support for Vulnerable Groups

The project is expected to have several significant economic, social, and environmental impacts aimed at transforming the horticulture sector in Lesotho while promoting sustainable and inclusive development. These impacts include: Increased Rural Incomes and Employment, Enhanced Agricultural Productivity, Improved Market Access and Value Chain Development, Private Sector Investment and Institutional Reforms, Environmental Sustainability and Climate Resilience.

Our Staff

Willie Bedell

Research Associate

USAID TradeBoost

Ndarama Works partners with DAI to implement TradeBoost; a project that aims to contribute to the decrease of rural poverty by increasing incomes and boosting the participation of women and youth in Zambia’s economic development. The project helps facilitate trade deals in Zambia to expand trade domestically and internationally including to and from the United States.

THE CHALLENGE

  • Small and medium firms in Zambia lack access to market information and the requisite skill to participate in the market.
  • Zambian goods require an increase in value and profitability
  • Zambian firms require finance and investment to participate in trade and exports.
  • High-quality full time jobs are required in Zambia and the United States.

OUR SOLUTION

  • Partner with private sector agriculture firms in Zambia to disseminate agricultural information to farmers.
  • Collaborate with Zambian companies to disseminate information that support access to finance for women-led or –owned enterprises.
  • Support post-harvest conditioning and cleaning that lead to proper grain grading and consequently buyer satisfaction with higher quality commodities.
  • Facilitate innovative access to finance, to allow farmers in rural areas to use produce as collateral to borrow money.

By 2024, the project has: supported $28 million in trade deals, 18 of which were in agribusiness; established five seasonal open markets that provided nearly 8077 smallholder farmers increased access to markets, higher incomes, and access to time-saving equipment; supported farmers to trade over 5090 metric tonnes of maize, groundnuts, soybeans, and sunflower, with sales over $1.9 million; enabled 200 firms to apply to access finance through the USAID Africa Trade and Investment (ATI) Annual Program Statement.

Our Staff

Nelson Chisenga

Agricultural Economist

Moses Mfune

Trade Specialist

Mobilizing Investment

Ndarama Works assists fund managers to access catalytic capital that enables them to fundraise, build team capacity and systems, and develop deal pipelines.

THE CHALLENGE

  • Globally, women-fund managers have access to less than 5% of the available capital. This limited access is even more pronounced for black female fund managers who experience a compounded challenge in their historical disadvantages to access capital markets.
  • An additional challenge lies in building the capacity of first-time fund managers. Breaking into the market, new fund managers lack the requisite systems or capacity to manage funds and require skills and capacity building to bridge the gap.

OUR SOLUTION

Targeting women fund managers, in particular black and first-time fund managers, Ndarama Works:

  • Mobilizes investors: engaging with a wide network of investors to attract investment capital to emerging managers that will develop and broaden underserved markets.
  • Develops capacity: offering critical working capital that assists managers to build internal capacity to identify, develop their pipeline and fulfil their investment strategies.
  • Reduces execution costs: By engaging ecosystem providers, the project can support transactions providing end-to- end transactional support, from legal, accounting and taxation services to structuring and execution deals.

Through, its unique approach of mapping the fund management ecosystem, and applying a market systems approach to implementing its interventions, the impacts of Ndarama Works’ solutions are to increase the number of well- established female fund managers, mobilize capital flowing to identified fund managers and into high-growth sectors, strengthen Southern Africa’s investment ecosystem, build the capacity of fund managers to manage larger funds, and increase income resulting from increased jobs from the deployment of funds into small and medium enterprises.

Our Staff

Melanie de Nysschen

Finance and Investment Specialist

Samki Koti

Finance and Investment Specialist