EDFI AgriFI and Seedstars Africa Ventures (SAV) led the investment for Shamba Pride, which aims to empower last-mile agro-dealers and connect them with smallholder farmers, boosting both business sustainability and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The funding, including $1.7 million in equity, comes on the heels of a $1.1 million capital raised in 2021 from SAV and Gray Matters Capital. Shamba Pride’s innovative approach focuses on digitising agro-dealers, providing tools for business management and inventory ordering, and ensuring a smooth supply of fertilizers and seeds to small-scale farmers in rural areas.

Shamba Pride addresses a critical challenge faced by millions of smallholder farmers in Africa: limited access to quality farm inputs, reliable information, and fair pricing. These farmers, who constitute the backbone of the continent’s food production, often rely on informal, exploitative channels, leading to low productivity and income.

“Agriculture distribution in rural communities is heavily controlled by agro-dealers who decide how farmers access inputs, services, and training. The company is therefore empowering these agro-dealers by giving them the right tools and technology for visibility of their businesses, for their professional and commercial development, and the right support for farmers around them,” shared Samuel Munguti, the founder and CEO of Shamba Pride.

Shamba Pride’s “digishop” model tackles this issue by digitising existing agro-dealers, also known as “agrovets.” These local shops are equipped with the tools and technology they need to manage their businesses effectively, order inventory seamlessly, and provide farmers with quality products and services at fair prices. 

Beyond digitising agro-dealers, the agtech’s platform also facilitates market linkages for farmers, offers Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) financial services, and provides training information through its USSD platform. Shamba Pride primarily targets small-scale farmers in Kenya’s agriculture sector, a key contributor to the country’s GDP, employing over 40% of the population and more than 70% in rural settings.

Maxime Bouan, a general partner at SAV, expressed pride in supporting Shamba Pride’s scalable model, emphasising its positive impact on farmers, agro-dealers, and women entrepreneurship. With a focus on innovation and resilience-building, Shamba Pride sources inventory from partners like French multinational Elephant Verve, supplying “climate-smart” farm inputs to fortify small-holder farmers against climatic challenges.

Shamba Pride provides agro-dealers with comprehensive business management tools, including inventory management systems, financial tracking tools, and data analytics. This access empowers agro-dealers to enhance operational efficiency and profitability, contributing to the overall growth of their businesses.

Farmers utilising the Shamba Pride platform benefit from the expanded range of high-quality, “climate-smart” farm inputs available through their local digishops. This improves the quality of inputs accessible to farmers and contributes to increased yields and resilience in the face of unpredictable climatic conditions.

Since 2016, the agritech platform has built a network of over 2,700 digishops across 24 Kenyan counties, reaching over 50% of the country’s agricultural retailers. 

With the new funding, Shamba Pride envisions a strategic expansion plan, aiming to extend its network to cover all agricultural regions and retailers throughout Kenya within the coming year. This ambitious goal reflects the company’s commitment to providing comprehensive support and services to a broader spectrum of stakeholders in the Kenyan agricultural sector.

Beyond the borders of Kenya, Shamba Pride is set to explore new markets, considering expansion into neighbouring countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. These countries share similar challenges in farm input distribution, and Shamba Pride seeks to leverage its successful model to address these challenges and contribute to the growth of sustainable agriculture across borders.

In addition to geographical expansion, Shamba Pride places a special emphasis on fostering the success of women entrepreneurs. Recognising that rural women constitute a significant portion of the agro-dealer workforce, the platform actively promotes and supports their entrepreneurial endeavours. In targeting and empowering women in rural areas, Shamba Pride aims to contribute to gender inclusivity and economic empowerment within the agricultural sector. The company’s vision extends beyond geographic boundaries, focusing on creating positive impact and opportunities for diverse communities within the agricultural value chain.

Shamba Pride’s approach represents a promising step towards a more equitable and efficient agricultural ecosystem in Africa. As the company empowers agro-dealers, it unlocks access to vital resources for millions of smallholder farmers, boosting their productivity, income, and resilience. This, in turn, contributes to food security, rural development, and economic growth across the continent.

This latest tranche, part of the Seedstars Africa Ventures I fund, further fuels the firm’s mission to support innovative businesses with high growth potential across the continent.

The AfDB’s investment comprises $7 million from its own resources and $3.5 million from the European Union Boost Africa program. This commitment will bolster Seedstars Africa Ventures’ ability to attract further investment, expanding its pool of resources for supporting African startups. This will also aid the firm’s expansion across Africa, broadening its footprint, and offering valuable support to promising entrepreneurs in more corners of the continent.

As an early-stage venture capital fund, Seedstars Africa Ventures specialises in supporting high-growth companies throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. It prioritises businesses that demonstrate strong potential for success and sustainable growth, generate substantial revenue, actively contribute to the African economy, offer solutions to key market challenges, and foster positive social impact.

Seedstars Africa Ventures’ focus extends beyond traditional investment hubs, with a notable emphasis on French-speaking countries like Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Cameroon. The fund also maintains active investments in Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Operating with a total capacity of $75 million, Seedstars Africa Ventures targets the early-stage and launch phases of businesses addressing critical market needs. Seed investments typically hover around €250,000, followed by subsequent capital injections of up to €5 million to fuel growth.

The fund’s core areas of interest include financial inclusion, empowering businesses and individuals through fintech and insurtech solutions; retail and logistics, enabling online and mobile commerce platforms to reach more consumers; healthtech, where the firm Invests in technologies that improve healthcare access and delivery, off-grid energy, providing sustainable power solutions in underserved areas, and technology adoption, facilitating technology integration across various industries, particularly food processing and value chains.

Seedstars Africa Ventures’ projected impact aims to create 9,000 full-time jobs, half of which will be made up of women. Additionally, the fund is expected to generate significant economic benefits for the continent.

This investment aligns with the objectives of the Boost Africa program, which targets high-growth, socially impactful startups. It also bolsters the AfDB’s broader strategy of linking entrepreneurship, investment, and economic growth to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Furthermore, the investment supports the Bank’s High 5 priorities by backing startups operating in key sectors like agriculture, health, industrialisation, and off-grid energy. Ultimately, this collaboration contributes to regional integration and improving the lives of people across Africa.

Seedstars Africa Ventures, launched by Maxime Bouan, Tamim El Zein, and Bruce Nsereko Lule in partnership with global organisation Seedstars and multi-specialist investment platform LBO France, focuses on companies leveraging digital technologies for essential services.

EIB Global’s investment, backed by the European Union through the ACP Trust Fund and Boost Africa program, aims to address the equity gap in early-stage funding on the continent. The fund concentrates on Seed+ and Series A rounds, offering follow-on capabilities, and leads investment rounds to facilitate syndication while providing essential operational support.

Seedstars Africa Ventures has already completed four transactions, supporting companies like Beacon Power Services, Poa! Internet, Shamba Pride, and Bizao. For instance, Beacon Power Services, based in Lagos, is working to improve the reliability and quality of Africa’s energy supply through smart grids, reducing grid energy losses by an average of 25% and providing three additional hours of energy daily per household.

The EIB Global’s $30 million investment, backed by the EU, further supports the digitalisation and economic development of African countries, aligning with the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy. This investment, deployed through the ACP Trust Fund and Boost Africa program, provides financial support and also offers technical assistance to enhance business skills and expertise for the companies invested in by Seedstars Africa Ventures.

The collaboration between Seedstars Africa Ventures and EIB Global is essential in promoting innovation, modernisation, and financial development in the African continent. This partnership is expected to have a far-reaching impact on the economy of Africa, creating new opportunities for job creation and enhancing the overall prosperity of the region. 

With the combined expertise and resources of Seedstars Africa Ventures and EIB Global, this initiative is set to drive digitalisation, foster entrepreneurship, and support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. In facilitating access to finance, knowledge, and networks, the goal is to empower local businesses, promote social and economic inclusion, and contribute to sustainable development in Africa.

Bruce joins to support the fund’s strategy to provide stronger support to entrepreneurs in the region by leading pre-series A and series A rounds and providing follow-on capital to catalyze later-stage investments.

Bruce is an active contributor to the venture capital ecosystem in the continent. With over 11 years of experience in venture capital and investment banking across frontier and emerging markets, he has led early-stage investments of several million dollars from African and international funds to more than 30 African startups, many of which have since developed into industry leaders and subsequently raised close to USD 500 million.

Seedstars Africa Ventures is excited to welcome Bruce to the team as the fund continues to deploy capital and will be able to count on his outstanding experience and networks. 

His onboarding is part of the fund’s strategy to ramp-up its Nairobi office and strengthen its fundraising and investment capabilities. The fund has already invested $5.3 million and recently participated in or led flagship transactions including early-stage investments in Beacon Power Series (Energy) and Bizao (Payments).

Before joining, Bruce was the founding Investment Principal at Chandaria Capital, where he established and led the operations of the renowned, sector-agnostic African venture capital fund. 

At Chandaria Capital, he led early-stage investment and portfolio management of 38 companies operating mostly in Africa, but also in South America and Asia. Under his leadership, Chandaria Capital won the East Africa Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s (EAVCA) award for Small Cap Deal 2019 and Venture Capital Deal 2020/2021.

Bruce is an ardent supporter of business and entrepreneurship in the continent and has sat on several boards to support their continued development. Having contributed to the development of Seedstars Africa Ventures, he looks forward to joining the team and building a leading early to growth stage fund for African startups.

“As an African that has lived in Africa for nearly 25 years, I have witnessed the numerous difficulties individuals face to start up and grow a business. The continued growth of early-stage ventures in the continent has positively accelerated the development of the industry.

Still, more needs to be done to ensure local entrepreneurs gain access not only to early-stage funding but also cornerstone investors that will support these businesses to scale and succeed through successive rounds of funding,” said Bruce Nsereko-Lule.

He added, “Seedstars Africa Ventures works to solve these issues. With the support of world-class institutions, including LBO France and Seedstars, Seedstars Africa Ventures is a long-term investment partner that provides talent in the continent with strategic support, networks, and continual funding to create pioneering companies that improve the incomes, health, and lifestyles of Africans.”

“We are thrilled to have Bruce officially joining us. Very few investment professionals in the region have the breadth of experience and track record that Bruce has of successfully investing in and supporting startups. Adding his complementary skillset to the team will benefit not only the fund but also importantly the value we deliver to our portfolio companies,” said Tamim El Zein, General Partner at Seedstars Africa Ventures.

“Bruce has been a major support to Seedstars Africa Ventures to date, and his onboarding will significantly improve our capacity to bridge the gap between angel investments and institutional capital. Our investors, portfolio companies, and partners can be proud to have an outperforming and like-minded investor by their side to achieve high-value impact in each of the sectors we invest in,” added Maxime Bouan, General Partner at Seedstars Africa Ventures.

For more information about Seedstars Africa Ventures, visit the link. Interested partners to connect with the team.