Sahel Capital backs hibiscus exporter
Sahel Capital, a prominent investor in the food and agriculture sector in sub-Sahara Africa, has announced a $1 million trade finance facility extended to Sourcing and Produce (S&P) from its Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA) fund.
S&P is a trading company specialising in procuring and distributing agricultural commodities sourced from Africa, particularly Nigeria and Tanzania, to customers globally. The company has successfully developed supply chain links with over 80 smallholder farmers, in Jigawa and Kano states in Northern Nigeria.
“Companies like S&P provide a double advantage to their host countries. They generate export earnings while also building the capacity of smallholder farmers with whom they partner. S&P’s operations in Nigeria and Tanzania have expanded over the past year through the incredible leadership of their management team,” stated Deji Adebusoye, a principal at Sahel Capital. “We at Sahel are quite excited about this opportunity and look forward to continued partnership with the company.”
The loan will enable S&P to expand its hibiscus flower supply chain and finance the aggregation of the flowers from smallholder farmers. Through SEFAA’s technical assistance facility, Sahel will support S&P to organise the farmers into cooperatives to improve their productivity and provide access to inputs.
Sahel Capital currently manages two funds: Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN), which has investments in SME agribusinesses in Nigeria, and Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA), which provides primarily structured debt to agribusiness SMEs across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Sahel Capital is also raising capital for a successor fund – Sahel Capital Agribusiness Fund II, which will focus on investment opportunities across West Africa.
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