Ugandan agri-loans startup Emata has raised a US$2.4 million seed funding round to expand its offering across East Africa.
Emata is one of the cornerstones of African economies and agriculture. It intends to change the world of farming and give loans to help turn farms into businesses. Emata was named the Best Newcomer at the Global Startup Awards finale in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Emata addresses East Africa’s lack of financing in agriculture by providing loans to farmers. This enables lending to smallholders at lower affordable rates than informal loans that they have relied on.
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It has digitalized the lending process and has implanted itself in the agriculture value chain via partnering with cooperatives and farmer-based organizations.
The US$2.4 million raise, which totals US$800,000 in equity and US$1.6 million in on-lending capital, was backed by African Renaissance Partners, Norrsken Accelerator, Zephyr Acorn, Swedish angel investor Marcus Boström, and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.
The raise will be used to expand its agri-loan offerings in East Africa, within its market in Uganda, and via international expansion, most likely to start from Tanzania.
The focus would be scaling its core markets like dairy and coffee. A multi-crop startup from inception, Emata’s other operations are oilseeds and maize, while expanding into potatoes.
“We are thrilled to complete our US$2.4 million seed fundraise, 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,” said Bram van den Bosch, founder and CEO of Emata.