Village Capital has announced its latest investment in Crop2Cash, a Nigerian agtech startup. Crop2Cash provides a comprehensive solution for smallholder farmers, offering access to banking, credit, agricultural inputs, warehousing, and insurance through a single platform.
Lagos, Nigeria, (April 10, 2024) – Village Capital has announced its latest investment in Crop2Cash, a Nigerian agtech startup. Crop2Cash provides a comprehensive solution for smallholder farmers, offering access to banking, credit, agricultural inputs, warehousing, and insurance through a single platform.
This investment comes from Village Capital’s Reducing Inequalities Investment Facility, backed by FMO’s MASSIF Fund, established to support financial inclusion by supporting innovative financial solutions and inclusive businesses.
Established in 2018, Crop2Cash addresses a pressing issue in Nigeria: the financial exclusion of smallholder farmers. Although banks are Nigeria’s primary provider of agricultural finance, with agriculture-dedicated funds growing by 35% annually, less than 5% of banks’ loan portfolios flow into the sector. The reasons smallholders are excluded from traditional bank financing are multifaceted and include stringent collateral requirements, limited understanding of market risks, and the absence of a robust rural branch network to access and serve the smallholder farmers.
Smallholder farmers in Nigeria have largely been excluded from the financial system as a hard-to-reach population for banks. Crop2Cash is revolutionizing financial inclusion for this underserved group by enabling farmers to effortlessly open bank accounts in under two minutes using basic feature phones, thanks to USSD technology. By harnessing innovative technology and forging strategic partnerships with financial service providers like banks, the startup has unlocked a range of services for farmers. They can seamlessly manage transactions and payments for their inputs, access credit, and obtain insurance, all from their phones. Beyond financial services, Crop2Cash operates a marketplace where farmers can conveniently procure high-quality agricultural inputs. Additionally, the startup digitally connects agro-processors with farmers and other suppliers, expanding market access and empowering farmers by integrating them into the digital economy. These services lay the groundwork for a more efficient and sustainable agricultural sector for farmers and stakeholders alike.
“We are thrilled to receive this investment from Village Capital, which validates our approach to addressing the critical challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Nigeria. By leveraging our unique technology and strategic partnerships, we are revolutionizing financial inclusion and providing smallholder farmers with the comprehensive support they need to grow their businesses and improve their livelihoods. This funding will accelerate our efforts to build a more sustainable and equitable future for African agriculture.” Michael Ogundare, Founder, Crop2Cash.
“For the Reducing Inequalities Initiative, we’re looking for companies that create opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural livelihoods,” shares Kavon Badie, Investment Officer at Village Capital. “Crop2Cash is doing this for thousands of smallholder farmers in Nigeria by enabling financial inclusion and access to essential services required for farmers to grow their businesses and thrive. We’re excited to partner with Michael and the Crop2Cash team as they scale this impact to more smallholder farmers.”
To date, the startup has unlocked USD 2.8M in credit for smallholders and supported 400,000 farmers who have accessed its platform. It is making its mark in the agtech landscape as a one-stop-shop solution for comprehensive access to financial services, reliable inputs, and insurance.
For more information on the Reducing Inequalities Initiative Fund and our portfolio companies, reach out to Husein Merchant at Village Capital (husein.merchant@vilcap.com).
About Village Capital
Village Capital is reinventing the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Known for its groundbreaking approaches to supporting founders who are building solutions to emergent social, economic, and environmental challenges, VilCap unlocks critical social and financial capital for early-stage companies to maximize business and impact growth.
Village Capital has operated in sub-Saharan Africa since 2012 by running over 14 accelerator programs in 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 financial health, hardware, sustainability, and the future of work. Learn more at www.vilcap.com and follow @villagecapital.
About FMO
FMO is the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank. As a leading impact investor, FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing countries and emerging markets by investing in ambitious projects and entrepreneurs. FMO believes that a strong private sector leads to economic and social development and has a 50+ year proven track-record in empowering entrepreneurs to make local economies more inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: Agribusiness, Food & Water, Energy, and Financial Institutions. With a total committed portfolio of EUR ~13 billion spanning over 85 countries, FMO is one of the larger bilateral private sector development banks globally. For more information: please visit www.fmo.nl
