The project aims to support the scalability and sustainability of the NWRS by strengthening the capacity of the regulator; supporting the further development of warehousing operations; supporting financial institutions and potential borrowers based on learnings from the 2021/22 pilot. The project will identify investment opportunities, subject to prevailing regulations, for IFC to invest or provide risk sharing instruments to support further growth of the NWRS, collateral management services, and high-quality storage infrastructure in Ethiopia. By project completion: • The legal-regulatory-institutional framework will be further strengthened through the introduction of a digital platform to support electronic warehouse receipts • Additional depositors – cooperatives and processors – will be engaged to participate in the NWRS through awareness-raising and capacity-building, strengthening the gender focus to assure participation of women producers, SMEs, and cooperative officials • Additional warehouse owners and collateral managers will be encouraged to participate in the NWRS extending coverage to additional value chains and locations, including special focus on the participation of warehouses at Integrated Agro-Industrial Parks and Rural Transformation Centers • Financial institutions already participating in the NWRS will be supported to improve operational performance in the loan application and administration process, scale their lending, and introduce complementary lending products to overcome depositors’ initial working capital bottlenecks • New financial institutions – including the microfinance sector and additional insurance firms – will be supported to participate in the NWRS