Nigeria’s ThriveAgric, has announced that it has invested over $100 million in financing and is connecting with over 514,000 smallholder farmers in more than 2900 communities in Africa.
The Nigeria-founded company, with a mission to build the largest network of profitable farmers, scaled its operations into neighbouring Ghana, and Kenya in East Africa, and also pilotted operations in 5 regions of Ghana and 6 counties in Kenya as stated in its ts 2022 Impact Report.
According to Samirah Bello, Partnership Lead at ThriveAgric: “At ThriveAgric, we remain committed as an impact-driven and customer-focused company. Through our strategic partnerships, we have been able to accelerate impact and reach meaningful milestones while tackling barriers confronting smallholder farmers in their day-to-day business. This report is an expansion of our 2017–2021 impact report, and we are proud to say that we have built a tech-driven agricultural enterprise that will eventually help feed both Africa, and the rest of the world.”
The firm saw 1.5 million+ metric tonnes of grains produced and 153.3% year-on-year increase in the number of women impacted and 80% increase in youth impact in communities due to its proprietary technology and key partnerships with governments and global institutions including the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX), Promasidor (Kenya) Limited, VISA, and OCP Africa.
Access to funding remains one of the biggest challenges confronting smallholder farmers in Africa. According to the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), agri-SMEs in Africa are critically underfunded with an annual financing gap of approximately $100 billion.ThriveAgric is bridging this gap by providing input financing, providing data-led advisory to improve output, enhancing supply chain efficiency, and encouraging sustainable agricultural practices with the aim of building a network of profitable smallholder farmers and contributing to a food secure Africa.
“In addition to the social benefits such as reducing poverty and improving gender equality, smallholder farmers that work with ThriveAgric produce double the national average yields due to access to better quality seeds, fertilisers and equipment,” said Uka Eje, CEO and co-founder of ThriveAgric. “At ThriveAgric, we will continue to adopt a multifaceted approach that includes collaboration between various stakeholders, increased investment, technology adoption, and sustainable agricultural practices. Our 2022 impact report is a testament that we are on the right track.”
ThriveAgric aims to provide $500 million in credit to 10 million smallholder farmers across Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya in 2027, and to double this outcome by 2050. The company will also be working with organisations who leverage its Agricultural operating Software (AOS) to provide access to loans for their farmers, and is currently onboarding partners. With food security projected by the UN to rise to a record 310 million Africans by 2030, ThriveAgric has planned expansions into Tanzania, Egypt and Zambia to alleviate the potential impact.