Through trainings like the ACE Marketing School and outreach programmes, we empower smallholder farmers and cooperatives with the knowledge to access better markets and improve livelihoods.
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engagedWomen reached
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engagedYouth reached
Deposit your crops in certified warehouses, get a receipt, and unlock finance or better prices — reducing risks and boosting incomes for rural farmers.
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engagedWomen reached
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engagedYouth reached
Connecting smallholder farmers to fair trade, market information, and partnerships — driving economic growth and sustainable incomes across Malawi.
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engagedWomen reached
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engagedYouth reached
The catalyst for structured trade
in Malawi since 2007.
The Catalyst
Incorporated in 2007, ACE Trust coordinates efforts across ACE Africa, Commodity Services Limited, and Chithumba — each with its own mandate, all bound by integrity, transparency, and openness.
Inclusive by Design
Every project promotes inclusive models that integrate farmers directly into service delivery, paving the way for a commercially sustainable commodity exchange and structured trade entities.
Proven Foundations
Thirteen warehouses built for farmer organisations, the Market Information System, the Warehouse Receipt System, and access to finance and inputs — the groundwork structured trade now stands on.
Structured trade for better livelihoods.
Practical support, lasting impact.
Our impact in numbers,
structured markets reaching
farmers across Malawi.
Farmer members nationwide
Smallholder farmers trained in structured markets
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ACE services adoption rate at farmer levelThe share of farmers we reach who go on to actively use ACE services — our clearest measure of whether training converts into practice.
Farmers traded on the ACE platform
Selling through structured, transparent trade rather than accepting whatever the farm gate offers.
Farmers deposited in warehouses
Using the Warehouse Receipt System to store crops securely and unlock finance against their deposits.
Projects delivered alongside
development partners.
Enhancing smallholder farmers participation in structured trade in Malawi through inclusive value-chain enabling platform and Action Learning Project
Funder: AGRA
Market-led Transformation of the Root and Tuber Crops Subsector in Malawi (RTC-MARKET programme Year 2
Funder: International Potato Centre
What partners say about
structured trade.
“ACE has come a long way since NASFAM first identified the need for farmers to access market information and better trade opportunities. The challenge with structured trade development is the fragmented market and structures we have in Malawi.”
Dr. Betty Chinyamunyamu
CEO, NASFAM · Trustee, ACE Trust“One of ACE’s strengths is its ability to bring industry together and provide industry solutions, such as the Warehouse Receipt System and commodity finance, but also encouraging those of us in the private sector to offer more services to farmers and become inclusive.”
Ahmed Sunka
CEO, Rab Processors“The ACE team inspires the business community with its tireless promotion of warehouse receipt and finance modalities. National Bank has financed a lot of warehouse receipts in the past and we’ll continue to work closely with ACE.”
Shadreck Malenga
Business Development Manager, National Bank of MalawiLatest from ACE Trust.
ACE Trust publishes its 2021–2026 strategic plan
Structured Trade for Better Livelihoods sets out four Focus Areas and five objectives for the next five years.
ACE marks fifteen years with the release of the ACE Retrospective
A seven-chapter account of the journey from an idea to a licensed agricultural commodity exchange — including what did not work.
Chithumba becomes a separate entity
The access-to-input model ACE Trust has run as a project since 2015 is now a for-profit entity in its own right.
ACE has been built on
strong partnerships.
ACE can only do so much by itself. For a true, efficient, and lasting agricultural industry transformation, all stakeholders must take part.
- Government of Malawi
- European Union
- GIZ
- Government of Flanders
- Welthungerhilfe
- Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund
- AGRA
- USAID
- IFAD
- UN World Food Programme
- Common Fund for Commodities
- NASFAM