The funding boost, facilitated through the French development finance institution Proparco alongside Sahel Capital, aims to strengthen Sukuma’s capacity to scale operations, support farmers, and expand its presence in global markets.

The enhanced facility builds on an initial $1 million investment made in 2024, enabling the company to grow its export volumes by more than 60 per cent since that first injection of capital.

This additional financing is expected to support working capital needs, expand coffee sourcing and processing, and improve market access for the exporter’s network of partner farmers.

Sukuma Commodities, one of Uganda’s prominent coffee processors and exporters, sources both robusta and arabica beans from more than 2,300 smallholder farmers across the country.

The company provides farmers with input financing and training in good agricultural practices before exporting green coffee to major buyers in European countries, including Italy, the Netherlands and Germany.

Part of the financing deal includes technical assistance to help Sukuma improve traceability and strengthen farmer registration systems.

These improvements are crucial for the company to meet the European Union’s deforestation regulation, which requires robust environmental compliance for agricultural exports into EU markets.

The expansion of this facility reflects broader growth in Uganda’s coffee sector. Coffee remains the country’s top agricultural export, with about 95 per cent of production shipped abroad.

In the first ten months of 2025, Uganda exported roughly 8.4 million 60-kg bags of coffee, generating an estimated $2.4 billion in revenue, underscoring the crop’s importance to the nation’s economy.

In statements accompanying the announcement, Sahel Capital highlighted Sukuma’s leadership and operational performance, noting rising demand for premium Ugandan coffee in European markets.

Sukuma’s CEO said the partnership had been transformative, allowing the company to deepen its engagement with smallholder farmers and build systems that align with international market requirements.

This financing round not only reinforces Sukuma’s position as a key player in Uganda’s coffee value chain but also exemplifies how strategic investment and technical support can unlock growth for agribusinesses in Africa’s agricultural export sectors.