Nigerian agri-tech platform, Babban Gona, has received $7.5 to boost food security and climate resilience for smallholder farmers in Northern Nigeria.
The debt investment was from British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, to help Babban Gona to provide farmers with high-quality agricultural inputs, financial credit, training on climate-smart practices, and support with harvest, storage, and access to market.
According to Kola Masha, Babban Gona’s Managing Director, “We are thrilled to have BII partner with us in this next phase of our journey as we accelerate the impact of our work, with the ambition to become the Earth’s highest-impact business.”
Northern Nigeria produces 50-60 per cent of the country’s maize but smallholder farmers face persistent challenges that limit their productivity and income. Many cultivate small plots of land, with limited access to finance, quality inputs, agronomic training, and reliable markets. These constraints are compounded by growing exposure to climate risks such as floods and droughts, which further threaten yields and income stability. These challenges contribute to post harvest losses of up to 30 per cent, worsening food insecurity across the region.
UK Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Florence Eshalomi MP, said: “Today, I’m proud to stand alongside British International Investment (BII) as we announce a $7.5 million investment into Babban Gona, a pioneering social enterprise transforming smallholder agriculture in Nigeria. This investment will help scale an innovative, tech-enabled model that empowers farmers with access to finance, training, and services, boosting yields and incomes while building climate resilience.”
Babban Gona aims to end this by helping farmers establish and run their own micro-enterprises which provide farmers with inputs and working capital financing. Babban Gona later supports these enterprises to access funding from local banks.
Babban Gona also provides climate-smart agricultural inputs such as drought-resilient seeds and multi-peril area yield insurance, which helps farmers recover from climate shocks.