Sahel Capital, a prominent investor in the food and agriculture sector in sub-Sahara Africa, has successfully approved a US$590k Term Loan loan from its Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA) facility. Launched in 2021 with KfW as the anchor investor, SEFAA aims to stimulate economic activities among smallholder farmers by empowering the social enterprises that engage with them.
Winich is a Nigerian Ag-tech firm that drives financial inclusion for smallholder farmers (SHFs) by connecting their harvested produce directly to the marketplace. The company seeks to eliminate the long chain of intermediaries who erode SHFs' profit by offtaking the SHF’s produce (rice, millet, sorghum, yam, maize, soybeans, and beans) through its established collection centres managed by its agents, who upload the products on the platform and connect with buyers at a fair market price. The company has onboarded over 80,000 users, including SHFs, agents, truck drivers, and SMEs across 14 states from inception to date.
“Winich’s ability to reach SHFs directly through its agent network and provide fair prices for their produce makes this investment very exciting,” stated Deji Adebusoye, a Partner at Sahel Capital. “Our capital will enable Winich to establish fulfilment centres closer to the SHFs, making sourcing more efficient and effective, and to build logistics capacity to move the produce from the centres to processors and the market.”
Riches Attai, CEO and Co-Founder of Winich Farm Limited has his sights set on expanding Winich’s reach across Nigeria. He explained, “As we expand across Nigeria, we solve two problems. First, we are providing a fair market to thousands of SHFs who can increase their income and improve the quality of their livelihoods. Second, we are easing sourcing constraints for several SME processors that require a consistent and reliable supply of various farm produce to remain in business.”
Sahel Capital currently manages two funds: Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (“FAFIN”), which has investments in SME agribusinesses in Nigeria, and Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (“SEFAA”), which provides primarily structured debt to agribusiness SMEs across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Sahel Capital is also raising capital for a successor fund – Sahel Capital Agribusiness Fund II, which will focus on investment opportunities across West Africa.