Accra-based impact fund Sahara Impact Ventures has announced a strategic investment in Agriarche, a Nigerian agtech company focused on tackling inefficiencies across agricultural value chains. Founded by entrepreneur Deina Mayaki, Agriarche has built digital platforms that streamline connections between smallholder farmers, aggregators, and industrial buyers. The investment underscores the growing role of agtech in addressing food security, sustainability, and climate challenges across Africa.
Building Digital Infrastructure for Agriculture
Agriarche’s flagship platform, Kasuwa, was developed to bridge gaps in Nigeria’s fragmented agricultural markets. The platform integrates real-time tools such as market intelligence, weather forecasting, and demand analytics to help farmers and buyers make informed decisions. By providing digital connectivity, Kasuwa reduces post-harvest losses and improves revenue streams for smallholder farmers.
Expanding Beyond Domestic Operations
While Nigeria remains its core market, Agriarche is broadening its reach by testing export opportunities. In 2025, the company executed pilot shipments of honey, beans, and hibiscus to Canada and Brazil, validating the global appetite for Nigerian produce. Building on these trials, Agriarche has expanded its international trade modules to increase cross-border agricultural flows.
Diversifying with Processed Foods
Alongside its export ambitions, the company is developing its consumer-facing brand, Mitera. Through Mitera, Agriarche partners with local processors and underutilized factories to deliver processed food products for Nigeria’s growing urban market. This diversification strategy positions the company at the intersection of technology, agriculture, and food manufacturing.
Sahara Impact Ventures’ Role
The investment by Sahara Impact Ventures comes at a pivotal time for Africa’s agtech landscape. The fund, which is female-led, focuses on climate and gender-sensitive investing, channeling resources into small and medium-sized enterprises that leverage technology to solve pressing challenges. Though the financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, the announcement on September 12, 2025, reflects Sahara’s mandate to back impactful ventures.
Strengthening Agriarche’s Funding Base
Sahara’s capital injection adds to Agriarche’s previous funding efforts, including a US$500,000 working capital loan secured from Sahel Capital’s SEFAA fund. That earlier support aimed to strengthen links between farmers and fast-moving consumer goods buyers across Nigeria. Together, these investments form a stronger foundation for Agriarche’s growth and expansion strategies.
Addressing Structural Challenges in Agriculture
Agriarche’s leadership has emphasized the urgent need for structured finance and reliable market access in Africa’s agricultural sector. Smallholder farmers, who contribute a significant portion of the continent’s food supply, remain vulnerable to inefficiencies and poor distribution networks. By building scalable platforms, Agriarche seeks to mitigate these bottlenecks and improve both sustainability and profitability in agriculture.
The investment in Agriarche by Sahara Impact Ventures highlights the increasing recognition of agtech as a driver of agricultural transformation in Africa. With Kasuwa enabling commodity trade and Mitera exploring processed foods, Agriarche is poised to scale its impact within Nigeria and beyond. Supported by mission-aligned investors, the company is well positioned to tackle post-harvest inefficiencies, expand international trade, and redefine the future of Africa’s agricultural value chains.