
Village Capital Invests $850,000 in Kenyan and Nigerian Agritech Startups
Village Capital, a global nonprofit investor in early-stage companies, has announced investments in Kenyan startup Aquarech and Nigerian startup Coamana.
The Empower Africa Business Platform is Now Live !!!
The Norwegian development finance institution Norfund has committed €20 million into Société Ivoirienne de Productions Animales (SIPRA), one of West Africa’s biggest domestically owned poultry enterprises.
Based in Abidjan, SIPRA controls its operations across the full poultry value chain — from feed milling and breeding, to meat processing and distribution to end consumers.
Fabrice Mpollo, Senior Investment Manager at Norfund, explained that the funding aligns with the institution’s strategy of supplying long-term capital to transformative sectors of the real economy.
He added that the partnership is rooted in Norfund’s belief in local collaboration, and is expected to bolster food security throughout Côte d’Ivoire and neighboring states, generate sustainable employment, and build capacity for numerous smallholder poultry farmers within the value chain.
SIPRA was founded in 1976 with the goal of modernizing the Ivorian poultry industry and reducing dependence on imports.
Over the decades, it has developed a vertically integrated model, comprising several strategic business units: Ivoire Poussins (hatchery and day-old chick production), Ivograin (animal feed), and Coqivoire (slaughtering, processing, and retail).
Current challenges in Côte d’Ivoire’s poultry sector include spikes in feed prices, transportation costs, and periodic outbreaks of avian diseases.
Nonetheless, the industry remains a pillar of the country’s agricultural output.
With Norfund’s financial support, SIPRA aims to scale operations further, reinforce resilience along its supply chains, and expand its outreach to smallholders and downstream markets.
According to Norfund, this investment marks the lead commitment in the company’s current growth phase and is designed to unlock broader regional impact in food production and job creation.
Village Capital, a global nonprofit investor in early-stage companies, has announced investments in Kenyan startup Aquarech and Nigerian startup Coamana.
Avanz Capital Egypt has joined Algebra Ventures’ second fund as a limited partner through a secondary transaction executed by its investment arm, Avanz Manara.
Buguard, an innovative Egyptian cybersecurity startup, has announced the successful closure of its seed funding round.