The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), through its equity investment solution InfraCo, has led a $26 million Series B investment in agritech platform East Africa Foods (EAF) as part of a broader $40 million capital raise.

Oikocredit and FMO, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, participated in the equity round alongside existing investors ARAF, Goodwell, Africa Eats and FINCA.

The wider $40 million financing also includes investment from existing shareholders and debt funding from the Schmidt Family Foundation. EKTA Partners acted as exclusive financial adviser on the transaction.

The Tanzania-based company will use the funding to expand processing, storage and logistics capacity, develop its digital platform and enter new markets, including Kenya.

EAF sources directly from more than 28,000 registered smallholder farmers and supplies more than 10,000 urban retailers. Its platform covers aggregation, grading, storage, processing and distribution, with produce also reaching consumers through its Onja and Golden Banana brands.

The company aims to reach 100,000 smallholder farmers over the next few years, with women expected to account for around 45% of beneficiaries. It also plans to reduce food waste across its network by a third.

“EAF’s offering aligns well with PIDG’s mandate to deliver inclusive, climate-resilient growth across the countries in which we operate,” said Claire Jarratt, PIDG Head of Investment Management for InfraCo.

“Strengthening EAF’s presence in Tanzania, and expanding its efficient, data-driven business into Kenya, will enable the company to mobilise future finance into this vital sector, underpinning improved food security across the region.”

Alongside its physical infrastructure, EAF plans to expand digital systems connecting farmers, branches and retailers and provide additional training to smallholder farmers in climate-smart production methods.

“A third of what our farmers grow never reaches anyone’s table. That is not a farming problem: it is an infrastructure problem, and it is solvable,” said Elia Timotheo, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of East Africa Foods.

“For the past three years we have been building the layer this market is missing: the sourcing network, the fleet, the storage, and the technology that sit between a smallholder farm and an urban shelf. This investment enables us to further improve and scale this physical and digital infrastructure.”

FMO said the investment could also help demonstrate the commercial potential of agricultural logistics and attract further private capital into the sector.

“By demonstrating a scalable and commercially viable model for agri-logistics, we believe EAF can help catalyze greater private sector investment into the sector and pave the way for increased commercial funding in the years ahead,” said Peter Byrde, Director Private Equity at FMO.