Babban Gona, a Nigerian agritech enterprise, has closed a $7.5 million debt facility from British International Investment (BII) to expand support for smallholder farmers in northern Nigeria.
The funding is expected to scale up the company’s franchise model, boost food security, and help farmers withstand growing climate pressures.
Agriculture is the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, accounting for about 25% of GDP and employing more than 70% of the workforce. However, smallholder farmers, responsible for producing around 70% of the nation’s food, still live below the poverty line, many earning less than $2 daily.
In northern Nigeria, these challenges are even more severe due to poor soil quality, erratic rainfall, and limited access to modern farming practices.
Babban Gona’s model offers end-to-end support including credit, training, harvest and storage services, as well as market access. In enabling top-performing farmers to run micro-enterprises that distribute inputs and financing to peers, the company has doubled net incomes for many participants compared to the national average. With BII’s backing, Babban Gona aims to reach about 140,000 farmers by 2029.
“Our partnership with Babban Gona is a great example of how BII is using catalytic capital to support innovative, high-impact business models that transform lives and economies,” said Benson Adenuga, BII’s West Africa regional director and head of office for Nigeria.
“By backing this pioneering franchise model, we are not only addressing a critical financing gap but also helping to build a more resilient and productive agricultural sector and support smallholder farmers in a region that is often overlooked by investors.”
Climate resilience stands at the core of Babban Gona’s approach. The company provides drought-tolerant seeds, climate-smart inputs, and insurance products that shield farmers from extreme weather shocks, essential in a country where floods in 2022 and 2024 destroyed crops and displaced thousands.
Since 2018, Babban Gona has deployed AI tools trained on over two million images to help farmers identify crop diseases with just a smartphone photo. Its offline-enabled mobile apps ensure that even those in remote, low-connectivity areas can benefit.
The same AI technology is used to support antenatal care for rural women and English literacy programmes for children, expanding its impact beyond agriculture.
Kola Masha, Babban Gona’s managing director, noted how early adoption of AI shaped the company’s global standing. “Our early work in AI enabled us to build very strong relationships in the space,” he said. “We were one of 12 organisations around the world brought into a small monastery in Lake Como with the likes of Nvidia, OpenAI, and Google to think about the role of AI for global development.”
Beyond farming, Babban Gona is experimenting with sustainable transport solutions in rural areas, including two-wheeler e-bikes and charging stations, an initiative Masha describes as building “the equivalent of a Tesla for northern Nigeria.”
BII’s latest investment is a medium to back African agribusiness, following recent commitments to companies like AgDevCo and Johnvents.
For northern Nigeria’s farmers, however, the impact could be more immediate, with access to finance, tools to survive climate shocks, and a chance to earn a dignified income.
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