East Africa: Agricultural finance company raises $2.4m seed funding

Emata – the agricultural finance solution for East African farmers – has announced the completion of its $2.4 million seed fundraise, comprising $800,000 in equity and $1.6 million in on-lending capital.

The fundraise was backed by African Renaissance Partners, Norrsken Accelerator, Zephyr Acorn, Swedish angel investor Marcus Boström, and venture philanthropy firm Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.

Emata plans to use the proceeds to enhance its agri-loan services throughout East Africa, building on its initial success in Uganda and eyeing potential expansion into Tanzania.

As East Africa increasingly turns to digital solutions, Emata addresses the region’s agricultural financing deficit by offering automated loans to farmers. This system cuts down on costs and provides smallholder farmers with rates five times more affordable than the informal loans they’ve traditionally depended on.

Bram Willem van den Bosch, founder and CEO of Emata said, “We are thrilled to complete our $2.4 million seed fundraise, backed by high-profile, impact-oriented investors who recognise the huge potential of digital agri-loans in East Africa, and beyond. Emata dares farmers to dream big and eliminates traditional obstacles that have made agricultural finance unavailable for the vast majority. Our solution turns a lifelong struggle into a five minute process, and is already tangibly impacting thousands of East African farmers.”

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