Traditional Informal Market Effeciency (TIME) Business Model focuses on Traditional informal markets as leading avenues for commodity marketing and food trade in Africa. Over 80% of agricultural commodities in Sub Saharan Africa are traded through the informal markets. These markets however are faced with various constraints that lead to depressed returns for market actors but even more for smallholder farmers who supply nearly all the commodities into these markets. This model systematically addresses the inefficiency and low competitiveness in informal markets by reducing such impediments as high transaction cost, enterprise inefficiencies, lack of basic business skills by buyers among others. The TIME business model provides answers to critical questions on supply chain efficiency, addressing logistics and transportation, competitiveness, business partnerships and business trust between informal market actors and smallholder farmers. The TIME model also addresses flow of market information and learning for thousand of market actors along various commodity chains. Informal markets are drivers for rural development as well as hubs for food distributions from food surplus regions to food deficit areas.  FCI through this model has evolved 170 informal markets, over 24,095 informal market actors as partners as well as several local market authorities in enhancing market actor effeciency, business partners with commercial villages as well as critical hubs for food distribution and trade. FCI partners with traders and market associations across over 50 commodity chains, designs market hygiene, sanitation and lighting innovations as well as create market information dissemination platforms with market players. The incorporation of digital online trading platform through AFMAX, enhances trade effectiency by availing market information as a critical component for TIME business Model.

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FCI VISION :Commercialized smallholder communities with increased incomes for improved, stabilized & sustainable livelihoods in Africa and beyond.