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Sahel Capital, a specialist investment manager in sub‑Saharan Africa’s food and agriculture sectors, recently provided a loan of $590,000 to Rasad Nigeria through its Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA).
The funding is allocated as follows: $450,000 for working capital and $140,000 for capital expenditure.
Rasad Nigeria, operating in Ogun State and led by a family-run team, sources cocoa and cashew from over 1,000 smallholder farmers and intermediaries. The business serves both domestic and international markets.
According to Deji Adebusoye, a partner at Sahel Capital, Rasad is significantly enhancing Nigeria’s cocoa sector.
“By reaching into border communities and maintaining procurement throughout the year, the company offers small‑scale farmers dependable market access and helps them manage fluctuations in commodity prices,” he said.
SEFAA is a $24 million impact fund, launched in 2021 with support from KfW Development Bank.
It primarily offers structured debt (with the flexibility for equity or quasi‑equity) to agribusiness SMEs across thirteen sub‑Saharan African countries.
Sahel Capital also manages FAFIN, the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria, which invests in Nigerian agribusiness SMEs.
Additionally, the firm is currently raising capital for Sahel Capital Agribusiness Fund II, intended to widen its agribusiness footprint across West Africa.
Advisory support for this loan transaction was provided by Jackson, Etti & Edu, who guided SEFAA through the process.
Blueroomcare, a Nigerian startup offering insurance-covered online therapy services, has secured an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding.
EdVentures, an Egyptian venture capital firm specializing in education technology, has announced six-figure investments in two Egyptian ed-tech startups—Schoolz and Ibn Sina Training Academy.
ANKA, an Ivorian SaaS e-commerce platform for African businesses, has raised $5 million in a pre-Series A extension round led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with participation from Proparco and Bpifrance.
