Nigeria’s Coamana, a startup that has established agent networks to facilitate the onboarding of farmers and traders into the digital marketplace, has raised $500,000 from Village Capital to digitize trade across markets in Africa.
The investment was from Village Capital’s the Reducing Inequalities Investment Facility, backed by FMO’s MASSIF Fund, to promote financial inclusion. To date, the fund has invested in four impactful startups, Apontech, a Bangladesh-based company enhancing financial inclusion for factory workers; Crop2Cash, a Nigerian agtech empowering smallholder farmers; Aquarech, a Kenyan startup advancing aquaculture around Lake Victoria, and CoAmana which recently received funding as the fourth beneficiary.
Founded in 2018 by Hafsah Jumare, Coamana was born out of her recognition of the gap between academic data and the realities faced by farmers. The startup ensures effective distribution of essential services, such as access to information, high-quality inputs, and credit, to farmers and traders.
“This investment marks a pivotal moment for Coamana, acting as a catalyst for our future ambitions. Village Capital has been an unwavering partner, journeying with us from Nigeria to Kenya and deeply understanding the communities and markets we serve, even reaching the borders of Niger,” shared Hafsah Jumare, Founder and CEO, Coamana.
Coamana’s vertical SaaS solution transforms traditional markets by digitizing their management processes, more reliable transactions, and empowering market management to enhance their existing operations. With Amana Market, both farmers and traders have access to credit, real-time market information, and high-quality inputs, optimizing market efficiency. By integrating with these markets’ existing governance structures, Coamana ensures a seamless adoption process.
Kavon Badie, Investment Ofcer at Village Capital said, “We chose to invest in Coamana because of their innovative approach to leveraging existing market structures to improve efciencies. They provide farmers and traders, who are often excluded from traditional fnancial systems, access to essential credit and information on producing high-quality inputs, ultimately improving the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers who rely on these markets. This investment aligns perfectly with our fund’s purpose of fostering fnancial inclusion and reducing rural inequality.”
Now operating in Nigeria and Kenya, Coamana has built a robust network of agents that assist in onboarding farmers and traders to the digital marketplace. The startup enables informed decision-making by providing real-time market prices and purchase requests, optimizing sales for better returns. It also strengthens market resilience and fosters economic growth in rural areas by improving access to credit and future-proofng traditional markets. Instead of disrupting existing systems, Coamana focuses on enhancing and evolving these markets with digitized services, supporting their continuous improvement and long-term success.
Village Capital has operated in sub-Saharan Africa since 2012, running over 14 accelerator programs serving entrepreneurs in 15 countries in the region. VilCap has supported more than 120 locally-based startups and 78 Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESO) working in sectors such as fnancial health, hardware, sustainability, and the future of work.