French development finance institution Proparco has agreed a loan package with Agriarche Limited to improve agricultural supply chains and digital financial integration in Nigeria. The funding, delivered through the Proparco Bridge Fund, will back the female-led firm as it scales operations across fragile economic areas in the North-West, North-East and North-Central territories.
Launched in 2020, Agriarche runs an integrated agribusiness network covering agricultural logistics, regional crop aggregation and electronic payment processing. Its primary digital platform, Kasuwa, allows smallholder farmers to access live market spot prices and execute transparent financial transactions. The business operates across nine states through physical fulfilment hubs, supporting more than 25,000 farmers and recording 3,000 active app users.
The intervention addresses critical logistical bottlenecks within the Nigerian agricultural sector. Statistics from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security indicate that structural inefficiencies and post-harvest losses cost the national economy over 3.5 trillion naira each year. These supply chain disruptions regularly lower farm incomes and limit regional food security.
Agriarche aims to mitigate these losses by offering real-time market data, weather updates and direct distribution networks to domestic food processors and international buyers in the Americas. Proparco stated that the development project aligns with its 2023–2027 corporate strategy to drive sustainable job creation and economic formalisation. The project is projected to generate an average of 125,000 jobs and involve a 42 per cent female participation rate among registered farmers.
Xavier Echasseriau, Regional Director for Nigeria at Proparco, stated: “Agriarche is leveraging technology to optimize Nigeria’s agricultural value chain while creating tangible opportunities for smallholder farmers. Through the Bridge Fund, Proparco is proud to support innovative women-led start-ups that contribute to more inclusive, resilient and sustainable agricultural systems across Sub Saharan Africa.”
Through corporate alliances with agricultural input firms and solar-powered pump financiers, Agriarche assists smallholders in cutting overall crop production costs by an average of 40 per cent. The platform also delivers 12 specialised training programs focused on climate-adapted cultivation systems to improve field resilience.
Deina Mayaki, Founder and CEO of Agriarche Limited, stated: “Africa’s future depends on making agriculture work. If agriculture works, Africa works. At Agriarche, we believe that unlocking the full potential of agriculture requires fixing the fragmented systems that separate farmers from markets, finance and opportunity. By combining physical infrastructure with digital innovation, we are building a trusted ecosystem that makes food more available, affordable and accessible. We are grateful to Proparco, through its Bridge Fund, for supporting our mission and enabling us to scale our impact.”
She added: “This partnership strengthens our ability to connect more farmers to reliable markets, expand financial inclusion, strengthen food systems and contribute to a more prosperous, resilient and food-secure Africa.”
