“Investing in high-growth, commercially attractive agricultural SMEs that improve value chain efficiency, drive import substitution, and meet the growing food demand of West Africa's urbanising population.”
Sahel Capital is a Lagos-based private investment firm established in 2010 and co-founded by Mezuo Nwuneli, focused exclusively on agribusiness and food systems across West Africa. The firm manages two main vehicles: the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN), which closed at $65.9 million in 2017 backed by the African Development Bank, CDC Group (now BII), KfW Development Bank, the Dutch Good Growth Fund, NSIA (Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority), and the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the Sahel Capital Agribusiness Fund II (SCAF II), targeting $75 million with a $29 million first close in late 2025 led by KfW and a US-based family office.
FAFIN invested in 8 agribusiness companies and completed 3 successful exits, while SCAF II expands the geographic scope from Nigeria to Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal. The combined portfolio spans 16+ companies across the full agricultural value chain: dairy (L&Z Integrated Farms, Rogathe Dairy), poultry (Dayntee Farms), cassava processing (Crest Agro Products), shea butter (Ladgroup), rice production (Coscharis Farms), cocoa aggregation (Kuapa Kokoo), commodity trading (Sourcing and Produce, Acier), agritech (Complete Farmer), packaging (Polyfilm), and FMCG distribution (TradeDepot). The firm uses equity, quasi-equity, and structured debt instruments, writing deal tickets of $3 million to $15 million. FAFIN created over 500 jobs (50% held by women and youth) and supported 1,000+ smallholder farmers.
| Name | Role | X/Twitter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mezuo Nwuneli | Co-founder & Managing Partner | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |