ThriveAgric, a local agricultural company driven by technology, has raised $56.4 million (N23.4 billion) funding from local commercial banks and institutional investors to expand its operations into new African markets, including Ghana, Zambia and Kenya.
The fund includes a co-investment grant of $1.75m from the USAID-funded West Africa Trade and Investment, which could see the firm growing its over 200,000-farmer base.
Founded in 2017, ThriveAgric empowers farmers in Nigeria to sell their products to Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) and food processors, leveraging its proprietary technology to access finance as well as improve productivity and sales to promote food security.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Uka Eje, said the new investment takes the company one step closer to fulfilling its mission of building the largest network of profitable African farmers using technology, to ensure food security.
“This latest funding follows $9m the company raised in 2020. Over the past 12 months, ThriveAgric’s revenues have increased five-fold, with a year-on-year increase of 277percent in farmer numbers.”
Harvests, including maize, rice and soybeans, are stored in many of the company’s over 450 warehouses in Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina states in Nigeria, before being sold in local and global trade markets at a premium price, he noted.
ThriveAgric Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Ayo Arikawe, said the company’s goal is to be able to widen access to markets for smallholder farmers, help lift them out of poverty, and ultimately promote food security.
