Ugandan agriculture finance startup, Emata, has raised $2.4 million seed fund comprising $800,000 in equity and $1.6 million in on-lending capital.
“We are thrilled to complete our $2.4 million seed fund raise, backed by high-profile, impact-oriented investors who recognize the huge potential of digital agri-loans in East Africa, and beyond. Emata dares farmers to dream big and eliminates traditional obstacles that have made agricultural finance unavailable for the vast majority.
Our solution turns a lifelong struggle into a five minute process, and is already tangibly impacting thousands of East African farmers.”
– Bram Willem van den Bosch, Founder & CEO of Emata
Investors in the round included:
- African Renaissance Partners – the VC firm investing in entrepreneurs in East Africa and the Horn of Africa
- Norrsken Accelerator – an investment arm of Europe’s largest impact tech ecosystem
- Zephyr Acorn – an investor in early-stage technology businesses in East Africa
- Renowned Swedish angel investor, Marcus Boström
- Global venture philanthropy firm – Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
Following the raise, Emata says it intends to expand in East Africa, with Tanzania its likeliest next market. Additionally, Emata will use the new funding to increase its loan offering within Uganda, its home market. It will focus on scaling its core markets – dairy and coffee. A multi-crop company from inception, Emata’s other operations are oilseeds and maize, whilst expansion is also anticipated into potatoes.
Featured by BitKE as one of 12 African startups selected for the CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa 2021 award, Emata’s business model addresses East Africa’s lack of agricultural financing – by providing automated loans to farmers. This reduces cost and enables lending to smallholders at rates 5x more affordable than the informal loans they have often relied on to date, the company said. Instant lending and data-based decisions also benefits all farmers without the need for collateral.
An alumni of Stockholm-based Norrsken Impact Accelerator and Silicon Valley-based Plug and Play Tech Center Accelerator, Emata says it has digitized the full lending process and is embedded in the agricultural value chain – via its partnerships with cooperatives and farmer-based organizations – which aids rapid scaling.
“Emata is a perfect fit for us: growing rapidly, with many competitive differentiators, digital strategy at its core, and materially impactful. The company has a great future ahead and we look forward to working closely with its management team,” said Magdi Amin, Managing Partner at African Renaissance Partners.
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