1. What the two schemes are
DFFMS keeps the register for two schemes. A register is the official record of who holds units, how many units they hold, and every approval along the way.
| SCAFI | SAIF | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | SAPZ Civil Service Agricultural Funding Initiative, Series 1 | SAPZ Agro-Investment Fund, Series 1 |
| Who invests | Civil servants through their cooperatives, the public, the diaspora | Retail and institutional investors, development partners, the diaspora |
| Where people join | On DFFMS, from their own account | On an SEC-licensed crowdfunding platform |
| How DFFMS treats it | DFFMS mode: DFFMS runs the joining and online payments | External platform mode: DFFMS keeps the record from the platform's statements |
| Series size | ₦250 million | ₦100 million |
| Tenor | 60 months, no rollover | 12 months, rolled over |
| Issue price | ₦1,000 per unit at issue, then the NAV | ₦1,000 per unit at issue, then the NAV |
| Dividends | Once a year, net of 5% withholding tax | Once a year, net of 5% withholding tax |
| Redemptions | Paid within 7 working days | Paid within 7 working days |
Both schemes issue units at ₦1,000. After the first valuation is approved, new units are priced at the latest approved NAV per unit (net asset value per unit).
Things that are the same for both:
- Eligible projects are in crop, aquaculture and livestock production; small and medium agro-processing; seed and input supply; aggregation; renewable energy and logistics; and cold chain.
- Credit cover: a partial credit guarantee of up to 75% (NIRSAL, at a 1% fee), and parametric insurance (NAIC, premium of 1.5% to 3.5%). SCAFI also has yield and special peril cover.
What is different in practice
- SCAFI members join from their DFFMS account, through a verified cooperative. They pay by bank transfer to the custodian account, or with Pay online (Paystack).
- SAIF members do not join on DFFMS. Their account page shows the badge "Subscribe on the SEC crowdfunding platform". Staff register each SAIF investor by hand with a platform investor reference. Staff record each contribution from the platform's statement. Online payment and online joining are blocked for SAIF.
There is no statement upload or feed for SAIF yet. Each line on the platform statement is typed in by hand as a contribution.