AFEX Commodities Exchange has received a $26.5 million investment from British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development financing institution (DFI) and impact investor, to assist with addressing food security in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.
Over 450,000 farmers are served by AFEX, a well-known commodities platform that presently runs over 200 warehouses in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.
News.ng gathered that the investment will help structural changes in Africa’s agriculture sector, which will boost food security and greatly assist small-scale farmers.
Twenty contemporary warehouses will be constructed in key sites across Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda with the help of BII’s financing. Along with scaling warehouse technology, the funding will also go toward next-generation software that records post-harvest prices.
Up to 200,000 more farmers can access low-cost storage and maximize sales from agricultural harvests thanks to the extra warehouses, which will provide 230,000 metric tons (MT) of storage space. This may assist and improve farmer incomes by more than 200 per cent.
The funds from BII will also be utilized to build a drying facility in Uganda and a soybean processing factory in Ibadan, Nigeria’s third-largest city by population. More than 80 permanent positions and over 700 temporary jobs will be created during the development of the soya bean processing and storage facilities.
BII Chief Executive Officer Nick O’Donohoe stated “The World Bank estimates that Africa’s food import bill has reached $30 billion in recent decades,” during the signing event in Lagos.
For this reason, we must encourage technology-driven businesses like AFEX, which lower import costs by assisting small-scale farmers in increasing the amount of food produced locally and increasing their earnings.
“This investment from British International Investment is a landmark moment in our mission to revolutionize agriculture and elevate food security across Africa,” Ayodeji Balogun, CEO of AFEX Group said. We are greatly expanding small-scale farmers’ access to markets and economic potential by investing new funds in constructing cutting-edge warehouses and other vital infrastructure.
“Our goal is to enable Africa to feed itself effectively and sustainably, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The investment made today not only supports AFEX’s expansion but also creates a more stable and prosperous future for Africa.
“The agricultural sector stands as a vital pillar to Nigeria’s economy, playing a significant role in job creation and investment potential,” stated Jonny Baxter, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos. AFEX received early-stage finance from the UK, and it pleases me to see the business flourishing so well.