Sahel Capital announced a first close at $29 million and a first investment for its Sahel Capital Agribusiness Fund II (SCAF II), anchored by KfW Development Bank and an unnamed U.S.-based family office.
“The first close of SCAF II, alongside our first investment, demonstrates strong investor confidence in our strategy and our ability to originate and execute high-quality transactions,” said Mezuo Nwuneli, managing partner, Sahel Capital.
Sahel Capital is a leading private investment firm exclusively focused on opportunities in the sub-Saharan agribusiness sector. Currently, the firm is managing three funds:
~ Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN), its inaugural fund which invested in eight Nigerian agribusinesses and has executed multiple exits.
~ Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA), which provides structured debt to agribusiness SMEs across 13 sub-Saharan countries;
~ And Sahel Capital Agribusiness Fund II (SCAFF II), which deploys growth equity to agribusinesses across West Africa.
“Our partnership with Sahel Capital reflects a shared commitment to strengthening food security through robust domestic supply chains that link agribusinesses with smallholder farmers,” said Oliver Van Bergeijk, heading of division, equity, and funds – sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, KfW.
“We have partnered with Sahel Capital across multiple funds over the past decade and value their strong execution capabilities and impact-driven investment approach.”
As a successor to FAFIN, SCAFF II is structured as a blended finance vehicle with a funding target of $75 million to be deployed primarily in Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Senegal, with businesses that strengthen food security, improve climate resilience, enable import substitution, and enhance value-chain efficiency.
Through this activity, Sahel Capital expects SCAF II to support the creation of more than 2,000 direct jobs, improve the livelihoods of approximately 30,000 smallholder farmers, and contribute about 145,000 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions reductions over the life of the fund through its investments in cold chain logistics, efficient processing, and reducing post-harvest losses.
Toward this goal, the fund has completed its first investment, acquiring a significant minority stake in Delifrost Caterers Limited – the top integrated cold-chain distribution platform for chilled packaged foods in Nigeria.
Since its founding 15 years ago, Delifrost has grown to include its own product brands while improving cold supply chain efficiency and lowering the carbon footprint of food distribution for the country.
Mezuo Nwuneli, managing partner, Sahel Capital, commented, “Our pipeline is robust, our investment themes are increasingly urgent, and we remain focused on building resilient, profitable agribusinesses that address food security and climate challenges across West Africa.”
“This partnership marks an important milestone in strengthening our governance and institutional capacity, while supporting Delifrost’s next phase of growth,” explained Nadim Beydoun, managing director, Delifrost.
“Sahel Capital’s deep sector expertise aligns with our ambition to scale Nigeria’s cold-chain infrastructure in a more efficient and sustainable manner, with a strong focus on renewable solutions and reliable food distribution systems.”
“Together we see significant opportunities to drive both commercial growth and measurable impact across Nigerian communities.”