Kenyan agri-tech startup Shamba Pride has raised US$3.7 million in pre-Series A debt and equity funding to help it expand its operations and impact.
Shamba Pride is a one-stop online-to-offline platform that connects smallholder farmers to quality inputs, services, and information through technology-powered “DigiShops”.
The startup raised a US$1.1 million funding round from Seedstars Africa Ventures and Gray Matters Capital in 2021, and it has now followed that up with a US$3.7 million pre-Series A round, led by EDFI AgriFI – the EU Agriculture Financing Initiative – and also featuring Seedstars Africa Ventures.
As part of the arrangement, EDFI Agrifi will provide a long term loan of US$2 million, while Seedstars Africa Ventures has committed an additional US$1.7 million in equity. Seedstars itself recently secured a US$30 million equity investment from EIB Global.
The investment aims to support Shamba Pride as it expands current activities in Kenya and develops additional services. The financing will enable the company to develop its franchise network and benefit from additional working capital to source agri inputs in bulk.
“EDFI AgriFI joined this growth journey through an investment that propels Shamba Pride towards its vision of positively impacting the lives of some 200,000 farmers by the end of 2025. The company has already grown its outreach by 10x since 2021 to reach over 220 shops, and the additional equity investment from Seedstars Africa Ventures alongside a trusted institutional financial institution is a significant milestone for the company to become a regional champion and a trusted brand for the industry,” said Shamba Pride CEO Samuel Munguti.
Rodrigo Madrazo, CEO of EDFI Management Company, stressed the transformative outcome brought by the investment.
“Support for Shamba Pride reflects our commitment to empowering entrepreneurship in frontier markets, with a high impact felt in rural areas. By providing appropriate long-term debt alongside additional equity investment, EDFI AgriFI is poised to play a pivotal role to help scale up Shamba Pride operations,” he said.
