02/09/2026
๐จ ๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ? Worldwide demand for food is increasing, but agricultural investments can be risky business, especially in emerging markets. Opaque laws on property ownership may affect profits. Restrictions on transferring money out of the country can dissuade investors. And political uncertainties and armed conflicts add a new layer of risk, potentially derailing even the most promising of investments. The result? Economic growth is stunted, and people lose out on the opportunities to build jobs and create better lives. Thatโs why guarantees matter. For AgriConnect, political risk insurance and other types of guarantees are part of the toolkit being deployed to make agribusiness work for farmers, create jobs, and boost food security. The World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, housed at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), brings together guarantee products from across the World Bank Group. We spoke to MIGA agribusiness expert Nabil Fawaz, Sector Manager for Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services at MIGA, on how these products can make a difference. โค ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ๐ฌ? Itโs hard to generalize, but a common challenge is the risk of not being able to convert local currency into foreign currency so the investor can repay its debt or repatriate earning dividends. Sometimes capital controls by the government make it hard to convert currency. Other times it could be limits on foreign exchange trading, or there is simply a shortage of foreign currency in the country. The hard truth is that if investors canโt get money out of the country, then it really doesnโt matter how much revenue a business will generate. Investors need to be able to repatriate earnings or repay debts. MIGA can insure against this risk, helping investors put their money where it will have the biggest impact. โค ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐จ๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ญ? We want to be better at proactively identifying -- as one World Bank Group team -- the big agribusiness-related infrastructure projects that will need foreign private capital to succeed. These are usually public-private partnerships carried out by the private sector with government funding. For example, projects for irrigation systems, transport, cold storage and processing facilities, and special agro-economic zones. These initiatives often require a government commitment to pay over a long period of time, like 10, 15, or 20 years. The government signing certainly is committed, but what happens down the line? Investors want protection against the risk that a contract could be broken. MIGA can provide that. A MIGA guarantee also means that we will step in to try to help the two sides find a solution, avoiding the need for arbitration. So we even go beyond insurance. โค ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ฌ. Weโre not just about guaranteeing repayment โ working with us helps investors get better financing terms. Because when MIGA steps in, the bank is lending on the back of the World Bank Groupโs debt rating, which is triple A, and not on the basis of the sovereign governmentโs debt rating. So it makes it cheaper to borrow and get a longer repayment period. โค ๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ฌ? ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง-๐ฐ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐๐ฌ. Bonne question. To be honest, the World Bank Group has a rigorous review process. Investors fear that the process will be complicated, lengthy and โ or -- costly. These guarantees might not make sense for someone with a smaller ticket, like a $5 million project. But with us, you do get more than a guarantee. Investors need to adopt our environmental, social, and governance standards, which strengthens their reputation and operations. As part of this, we help investors look closely at the environmental and social impacts of their projects and make adjustments. Ultimately, partnering with the World Bank Group can bring a host of benefits
