Nearly Five Decades of Impact

AFRACA was established in 1977 under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), following the recommendations of the 1975 World Food Conference in Rome. The idea began at an FAO seminar on agricultural credit held in Accra in 1973, and the first General Assembly met in Nairobi in November 1977. FAO's regional office in Accra set up the first Secretariat and provided its first Secretary General.

The Secretariat moved to Nairobi in 1981 and was registered under the NGOs Coordination Act. Kenya granted AFRACA diplomatic status in 2003, and the Secretariat is hosted by the Central Bank of Kenya Institute of Monetary Studies (CBK-IMS). AFRACA is an association of banks, central banks, microfinance institutions, public development banks, financial and non-financial institutions, fintechs and agri-techs.

AFRACA holds FAO Liaison status and is an active member of the global RACA family, alongside APRACA, ALIDE, CACRA, NENARACA and CICA, and serves as a continental platform for knowledge exchange, policy dialogue, and partnerships connecting member institutions across Africa.