Tag: Funding, Private Equity & Venture Capital

Kenya’s horticulture sector gets US$6m from EU to boost sanitary and phytosanitary standards of fresh produce

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KENYA – The European Union (EU) has granted Kenya €5 million (US$6 million) to support its horticultural sector achieve sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) as required by the export markets. Under a four-year plan dubbed New Export Trade (NExT), EU aims at increasing the contribution of the horticultural sector to household income. Deputy Head of Delegation, EU to Kenya, Katrin Hagemann, said this will be achieved through the generation of employment opportunities and foreign currency. She said to improve food security safety and nutrition there is need to increase the…

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AfDB leads other DFIs in pledging US$17 billion support to boost Africa’s food security

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AFRICA – Sub-Saharan Africa has a quarter of the world’s arable land but only produces 10 per cent of its agricultural output. The low productivity of staple crops makes African agriculture uncompetitive, with the region turning to imports making the food systems more vulnerable. During the recently held Feeding Africa: leadership to scale up successful innovations forum, African countries committed to double agricultural productivity as development banks, institutions pledged US$17 billion support to increase food security. The event was hosted by the Africa Development Bank and the UN International Fund…

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African Development Fund grants Ethiopia US$31.2m to combat child malnutrition through MASReP

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ETHIOPIA – The government of Ethiopia has received US$31.2m grant from the African Development Fund, to boost the US$48m Multi-sectoral Approach for Stunting Reduction Project (MASReP). MASReP aims to increase access to nutritional services for children under-five years, by improving health services, availing more diverse and nutritious food, and improving knowledge, attitude and practices on feeding, care and hygiene. The project will target forty districts or woredas in the country’s Amhara and Tigray regions, highlights African Development Fund. Child malnutrition remains a significant development challenge in Ethiopia. In the project…

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Investment firm Goodwell unveils US$60m feeder fund to support high growth SMEs in Africa

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AFRICA – Goodwell investments, an Impact investment firm, is set to allocate follow-on funding to existing companies in its portfolio, operating in the food, agriculture, ecommerce sectors in Africa, among many others. The targeted companies include Good Nature Agro, a Zambian for-profit social enterprise that believes in farmer-centric impact; Tomato Jos, a Nigerian agro-processing company focused on the local production of high-quality tomato paste; Copia, one of Africa’s most promising ecommerce businesses based in Kenya; and Nomanini, a South Africa headquartered fintech platform that connects financial service providers and fast-moving…

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Generation Africa is back with 3rd annual GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition

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AFRICA – Generation Africa, a partnership initiative with a vision to strengthen the ecosystem for youth entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector in Africa, has launched its third annual US$100,000 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition. According to the organizers, this year’s competition targets to expand the GoGettaz community of agripreneurs, providing them with access to education, mentorship and investment networks as they launch, grow, or scale their agrifood ventures. This is an incredibly important year for global food systems as COVID has exacerbated food insecurity, inequalities and poverty. “The pandemic has challenged…

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AfDB supports Cameroon in establishment of US$119.7m livestock, fish farming development project

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CAMEROON – Cameroon has launched the CFAF65 billion (US$119.7m) Livestock and Fish Farming Value Chain Development Project (PDCVEP), aimed to boost the competitiveness of the beef, pork, and fish sectors. The initiative has been funded through a loan injection of CFAF55 billion (US$101.3m) from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and capital contribution of CFAF10 billion (US$18.4m) by the Government of Cameroon. The PDCVEP is scheduled to run for the next five years, targeting to improve producers’ income and create job opportunities in the beneficiary segments, reports Business in Cameroon. To…

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Founders Factory Africa partners with Irish Small Foundation to scale agri-tech startups in Africa

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SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa-based venture development and investment company, Founders Factory Africa has partnered Small Foundation to provide a platform that will design, build and scale over 18 agri-tech startups on the continent. Founders Factory, which originally launched in London in 2015 and has already built more than 70 startups, launched African operations in Johannesburg in 2018, from where it plans to design, build and scale 140 disruptive tech startups across Africa. The company brought its model to Africa in partnership with Standard Bank, and subsequently secured backing from…

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Insurtech start-up OKO raises US$1.2m to bring innovative products to smallholder farmers in Africa

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MALI – Insurtech start-up OKO, a provider of inclusive agricultural insurance to secure farmers’ income across Africa, has closed a seed investment of US$1.2 million led by Newfund and ResiliAnce. Mercy Corps Venture, Techstars, ImpactAssets and RaSa also participated in the round. The start-up headquartered in Mali and operates in Uganda, uses satellite data and mobile payments to create automated insurance products for farmers whose fields are affected adversely by weather occurrences primarily droughts and floods. With the new funding, OKO aims to strengthen its presence in Mali and Uganda…

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IFC, FMO to back Tunisian olive oil producer CHO Company with US$14m financing

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TUNISIA – One of Tunisia’s largest olive oil producers, CHO Company is eyeing €12 million (US$14.4m) long-term financing facility from the International Finance Corporation (IFC)and Dutch development finance institution FMO. The proposed debt will finance the company’s permanent working capital and capital expenditures to support its strategy to increase its sales of bottled olive oil. “CHO’s overall goals through this project are its contribution to preserving linkages with farmers, maintaining jobs, and domestic value addition,” indicates FMO. The project’s contribution to market resilience will be through building capacity along the…

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Egyptian grocery delivery startup Appetito raises funding for expansion

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EGYPT – Appetito, a Cairo-based grocery delivery startup has raised US$450,000 in seed funding to support its expansion and growth plans in Egypt and beyond. The round of funding was led by Ahmed Al Alola, an early-stage investor alongside Afropreneurs Fund and MENA’s Jedar Capital. Founded in March 2020, Appetito operates through a “dark stores model”, where products are sourced from manufacturers, stored in mini fulfilment centres then delivered to household customers. The company started with a wide range of private label products serving all areas of Cairo, Giza, and…

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