Village Capital has partnered with Schooner Africa Fund to launch the Africa Investment Marketplace that will invest between $100k and $500k in early stage agritech startups in East Africa.

Cynthia Ryan, Managing Director, Schooner Capital, said: “We are providing due diligence, transaction advisory, investor matching and deal syndication services for eight agribusinesses from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Sudan, selected from Schooner’s and Village Capital’s portfolios and training programs.” 

“By addressing the challenge of robust deal flow and investment readiness, Schooner Africa Fund and Village Capital intend to unlock $2m in investments with direct impact on the wealth and livelihoods of smallholder farmers,” she said. 

The eight companies include Esoko, FarmDrive, Futurepump, Herdy Limited, Honey Care, iProcure, Ojay Greene and Wanda Organic.

Over the next few months, Village Capital and Schooner Africa Fund will bring together investors to review deals and consider syndication options to help the startups scale to serve more people in the region.

Ross Baird, CEO of Village Capital, said: “In East Africa right now, there is a fundamental disconnect between entrepreneurs and investors. High-potential companies claim that they are unable to unlock capital to grow and scale, while too many investors say there are no investment ready companies to back.”

Baird said that the agricultural sector is critical to economic growth and wealth creation, however investment in this sector has been slow, due to challenges of market access, climate change, and mismatched returns expectations.

“Our companies are reducing post-harvest loss, building supply chains, and adding value.  We know they are investable and can scale, with the help of our curated deal making,” he said.