AgriFI and Seedstars Africa Ventures invest in Quality Agri input distribution in Kenya
EDFI AgriFI and Seedstar Africa Ventures have announced a strategic investment of USD 3.7 million in Shamba Pride, a Agri SME based in Kenya.
AgriFI will provide a long term loan of $2 million, to foster sustainable development and economic growth in developing countries. Seedstars Africa Ventures, investor since 2021, has committed an additional $1.7 million in equity, reaffirming its support to the company and catalysing investments into the company from international funds.
Shamba Pride addresses the crucial challenge of providing quality and affordable agricultural inputs, services, and information to smallholders in rural areas. Known for its innovative approach, the company has built a platform empowering last-mile agro-dealer shops, or agrovets, with digital services, namely enabling easy online ordering and purchase with weekly doorstep delivery of supplies, reducing out of stock situations. This model not only allows the creation of new jobs, but it also provides access to agricultural inputs for smallholder farmers in remote rural areas at more affordable prices.
Shamba Pride CEO Samuel Munguti explained: “AgriFI joined this growth journey through an investment that propels Shamba Pride towards its vision of positively impacting the lives of some 200,000 farmers by the end of 2025. The company has already grown its outreach by 10x since 2021 to reach over 220 shops, and the additional equity investment from Seedstars Africa Ventures alongside a trusted institutional financial institution is a significant milestone for the company to become a regional champion and a trusted brand for the industry.”
Rodrigo Madrazo, Chief Executive Officer of EDFI Management Company, stressed the transformative outcome brought by the investment, noting: “Support for Shamba Pride reflects our commitment to empowering entrepreneurship in frontier markets, with a high impact felt in rural areas. By providing appropriate long-term debt alongside additional equity investment, EDFI AgriFI is poised to play a pivotal role to help scale up Shamba Pride operations.”
“Shamba Pride’s success is based on innovations which facilitate the day-to-day farming activities. We’ve been proud to support a scalable model which creates additional revenues for farmers and agrovets and strongly contributes to successful women entrepreneurship”, noted Maxime Bouan General Partner at Seedstars Africa Ventures, adding that the company would now grow to new heights and scale with larger corporate partnerships.
The investment aims to support Shamba Pride as it expands current activities in Kenya and develops additional services. The financing will enable the company to develop its franchise network and benefit from additional working capital to source agri inputs in bulk, which both will increase the impact in rural areas.
Robin Boereboom, AgriFI Senior Investment Officer, EDFI Management Company, added: “Samuel Munguti, a Kenyan entrepreneur, applied his experience in supply chain and marketing within fast-moving consumer goods companies to disrupt the local agri inputs’ sector. We’re excited to support a locally grown and innovative digital initiative that is revolutionizing the agri input ecosystem in rural areas, with significant benefits for both agrovets and farmers.”
Yvonne Chileshe, OACPS Expert on Value Chains from ACP Regional Window, expressed optimism, stating: “This investment showcases the need for strategic collaborations and financial support in advancing sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Shamba Pride allows the creation of a community of smart micro-entrepreneurs -most of them women and youth led- serving the smallholder famer community. Thus, the growth of the company aligns with our goals to foster inclusive development.”
EDFI AgriFI and BIO Join Forces to Invest EUR 6 Million in Gebana Faso
On 5th September 2023, EDFI AgriFI and BIO, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, announced their co-investment of a total of EUR 6 million in Gebana Faso (GFA), a pivotal step towards enhancing integrated and sustainable food supply chains in the region.
EDFI AgriFI Invests EUR 2.7 million in Good Nature Agro Products Ltd to Boost Sustainable Agriculture in Zambia
On 23 August 2023, EDFI AgriFI, the EU funded Agriculture Financing Initiative, announced its investment of USD 3 million (EUR 2.71 million) in Good Nature Agro Products Ltd (GNA), a Zambian social enterprise dedicated to empowering smallholders and fostering sustainable agriculture. This investment is part of the ACP regional window, supported by the Secretariat of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
Inua Impact Fund receives investment to support Agri SMEs in Uganda
EDFI AgriFI, will provide USD 2 million to Inua Impact Fund to support up to 30 investments into early stage and high-growth Ugandans small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Inua Impact Fund will be the first resident impact investment equity fund in Uganda that will be investing in high-potential entrepreneurs and SMEs with financing needs lower than $500,000. Inua Capital apply a gender lens in its investments to correct gender imbalances in the private sector economy and narrow the gap for women in access to capital.
Accounting for a quarter of the country’s GDP, and three quarter of employment, agriculture represents a crucial growth opportunity for Uganda. Through this investment in INUA Impact Fund, EDFI AgriFI will be able to invest in around 10 agri SMEs, which should indirectly support around 3,000 smallholders over 10 years. Inua Impact Fund is the first investment of AgriFI financed under its African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) regional window that started in January 2022. The aim of this window is to enable SMEs, financial institutions and impact funds in ACP countries working in 11 priority value chains to access long-term funding with the end goal of improving farmers’ livelihoods.
Impact Story
Helping people fight poverty and provide better lives.
Babban Gona member Filibus Zakariya used to live a life of poverty with his family, working on different farms just to ensure they had something to eat. Thanks to Babban Gona, his maize farm allows him to provide a better life to his family and help his community.
EDFI AgriFI invested in Babban Gona in January 2020. Since then, the company has notably partnered with Harvard University ’s Aspire Institute to develop Nigerian students’ leadership skills, and trained +100K women in entrepreneurship.
Watch Filibus Zakariya’s video here: https://buff.ly/3B2EraV
