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Village Capital has invested a combined $450,000 in Nigerian startups Trade Lenda and AirSmat through its $4 million Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility, extending the fund’s portfolio into Nigeria after its first investments in Ghana.
Trade Lenda provides financing and embedded financial services to small businesses and farmers, while AirSmat converts agricultural waste into biochar-based fertilizer.
Africa Fintech Foundry, one of the facility’s Nigerian ecosystem partners, sourced both investments.
The Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility was launched in February 2025 by Village Capital with support from FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.
The facility backs early-stage businesses in Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania that address economic mobility and climate resilience, working with local entrepreneur support organizations to identify and evaluate companies.
The two Nigerian investments bring the facility’s portfolio to seven companies across Ghana and Nigeria.
Village Capital had previously invested $850,000 in five Ghanaian businesses, including Rivia Clinics, VDL Fulfilment, Built Financial Technologies, GrowForMe, and SAYeTECH.
Trade Lenda offers digital business loans, embedded finance, and Sharia-compliant financing.
The company says it has supported more than 260,000 small businesses and farmers across five of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with women accounting for 66% of its customers.
Adeshina Adewumi, Trade Lenda’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said the investment has helped the company accelerate growth, obtain a higher operating license, and secure an additional $2 million in lower-cost local debt facilities.
That additional debt capacity could allow Trade Lenda to expand lending to small businesses while reducing its funding costs.
Access to appropriately priced local capital remains a major constraint for many Nigerian SMEs, particularly those operating outside formal credit channels or without traditional collateral.
AirSmat will use its investment to complete and commission a commercial production facility for its biochar-based fertilizer and increase output.
Its model uses agricultural waste to produce biochar, a carbon-rich material that can support soil health and may create carbon-market income opportunities for farmers.
“Access to capital structured around the realities of building a climate-tech company has been transformative for AirSmat,” said Soji Sanyaolu, the company’s founder and chief executive officer.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a $50 million equity allocation to REPP 2, a new debt fund that will provide an opportunity to invest in the rapidly growing renewable energy sector in sub-Saharan Africa.
Susu, an Ivorian health-tech startup, has secured a significant $4.8 million investment to broaden its healthcare services across the continent.
Egyptian healthtech startup Chefaa has received a $5.25 million boost in a funding round co-led by Newtown Partners (South Africa) and Global Brain (Japan).
