Propelling Agri-SMEs from Early to Growth Stage Investment

In recent years, African markets have seen an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars in seed capital for agri-SMEs. However, many companies still struggle to make the leap from early to growth stage capital, while many investors targeting growth stage agri-SMEs struggle to develop a pipeline of bankable deals.

How can we facilitate the transition from seed capital to growth stage capital for African agri-SMEs?

The event will feature a presentation of the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) Deal Share Platform, which was launched as a pilot in November 2020 and now counts more than 70 registered social investors active in Africa, including foundations, family offices, impact fund managers, DFIs, INGOs, angel investors, and advisory service providers. The platform aims to build a community of philanthropists and impact investors that can share vetted deals along the continuum of social capital and find co-investors, exits, and strategic partners. For more information see: https://old.avpa.africa/deal-share/

The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion about the key enabling factors for a successful transition from early to growth stage capital, both from the perspective of agri-SMEs and of investors.

Where: Zoom - Register Here.

Speakers

Rachel Keeler, Value Hub Director, AVPA (Opening speaker)

Rachel leads the AVPA Value Hub, which drives service delivery for the network's diverse stakeholders. In 2020, she designed and launched the new AVPA Deal Share Platform, a community that allows social investors to share funding opportunities with each other. Rachel engages widely with social investors to identify avenues for collaboration to address major social challenges facing Africa. Based in Nairobi for 11 years, Rachel has worked as an analyst, journalist, researcher, entrepreneur, portfolio manager, and impact communicator across many sectors. Formerly, Rachel was the Impact Director for KPMG International Development Advisory Services (IDAS) Africa, where she managed learning and innovation across a US$1bn portfolio. Originally from the United States, Rachel has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego. She also holds a master’s degree in global politics, with emphasis in global political economy, international relations and African development, from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Songbae Lee, Agricultural Finance Team Lead, USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security (Moderator)

Songbae joined RFS in 2020 as Agricultural Finance Team Lead, supporting USAID in its efforts to mobilize private capital for agriculture. Before this role, he spent eight years at Calvert Impact Capital, a non-profit impact investing debt fund, where he was responsible for deal origination, credit assessment, and ongoing portfolio monitoring. Prior to that, he worked for Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in their global energy investment banking group in New York City, Banc of America Securities in their real estate investment banking group in San Francisco, and Mercy Corps in their microfinance institution in Kyrgyzstan. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.S. from the University of Vermont.

Deji Adebusoye, Principal at Sahel Capital Agribusiness Managers Ltd.

Deji Adebusoye is a Principal at Sahel Capital Agribusiness Managers Ltd., a food and agriculture-focused private equity firm investing in mid-sized agribusinesses. Sahel Capital oversees $65.9 million in assets through its debut fund – Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (“FAFIN”). He leads deal origination and execution and manages the performance of value-creation initiatives post-investment. He represents FAFIN on the board of L&Z Integrated Farms Limited and Coscharis Farm Limited. He has worked for over 13 years across various operations and finance roles in multinationals, including Procter & Gamble and Syngenta Crop Protection AG. He holds an MBA from INSEAD Business School and a first-class degree in Chemical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University.

Edward Isingoma Matsiko, Managing Partner at Pearl Capital Partners Ltd.

Edward Isingoma Matsiko has been in the accounting, finance, investment, and administration fields for well over 18 years and is a renowned East African regional agri-business impact investing professional. He was the Financial Controller of both African Agricultural Capital – AAC and Kilimo Trust before being involved in the establishment and formation of Pearl Capital Partners (PCP) in 2010, and he serves on several PCP-managed SME investees business boards. As team lead at PCP, he is actively involved in PCP’s ongoing deployment of their 4th agri-focused and Uganda-only focused fund - the Yield Uganda Investment Fund. He holds a PhD in Business Administration with specialty in Finance and Accounting from London Graduate School of the Commonwealth University, and an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School of Heriot-Watt University.

Hans Perk, Regional Director Africa and Global Agricultural Sector Specialist, Oikocredit

Hans Perk joined Oikocredit in January 2018. As regional director for Africa, he is responsible for the development and implementation of the strategy for the continent, working in 13 countries from 4 offices in East and West Africa. Before joining Oikocredit, Hans lived and worked in Guatemala implementing sustainable production practices on a coffee plantation and in Ghana working for Solidaridad, a Dutch NGO, as regional director for West Africa. He started his career as an investment manager at Triodos Bank in The Netherlands.