- Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan startup that provides financial and technical assistance to smallholder farmers has received a grant of $500,000 (about Sh50 million).
- The Kenyan startup plans to use the funds to continue financing farming and improving techniques for gauging borrowers’ credit worthiness as well as expand its geographical range within Kenya.
Kenyan startup receives $500,000 from Netherlands Development Finance Company and Rabobank Foundation
Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan startup that provides financial and technical assistance to smallholder farmers.
A Kenyan startup has received millions of shillings from Netherlands Development Finance Company and Rabobank Foundation.
Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan startup that provides financial and technical assistance to smallholder farmers has received a grant of $500,000 (about Sh50 million).
The Kenyan startup plans to use the funds to continue financing farming and improving techniques for gauging borrowers’ credit worthiness as well as expand its geographical range within Kenya.
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“Funding from FMO and Rabobank Foundation will allow us to expand our lending reach and will greatly accelerate our rate of learning. The more loans we extend and the more data we gather, the more effective our credit model becomes at predicting default,” said Apollo chief executive Eli Pollak.
Netherlands Development Finance Company is a former is a public-private bank also known by its Dutch acronym FMO while Rabobank Foundation is the “social fund” of the Dutch banking giant Rabobank, a leading food and agribusiness financier.
Rabobank Foundation’s investment is a loan while FMO’s investment is a convertible grant, meaning it may acquire equity in in the future at no further cost.
FMO disbursed the convertible grant from the Massif Fund, which provides debt and equity primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Nairobi based technology-focused firm operating in the agriculture sector was founded in 2015.
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It offers smallholder farmers loans to finance the purchase of farming inputs such as fertilizer, seed, crop insurance and telephone consultations.
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