Led by Creation Investments and Syngenta Group Ventures, the funding round also saw participation from Vivo Ventures, L4, and Nochu Bank, as well as current institutional investors including Valor Capital, Lightrock, Yara Growth Ventures, Provence Capital, SP Ventures, and Barn, among others. When commenting on how the capital is set to be leveraged, representatives from Agrolend mentioned their plans to further expand their financing capacity for farmers, particularly throughout this complex landscape for credit in agribusiness.
Considering Agrolend’s commitment to promoting economic and social development by scaling access to financial services, Creation Investments mentioned that the digital bank’s growth and increased credit offering to small and medium-sized farmers are set to deliver a substantial opportunity to positively impact an important sector of the Brazilian economy. At the same time, officials from Vivo Ventures highlighted that the decision to invest in Agrolend can be attributed to the potential to scale their company’s offering of solutions for the agricultural sector. In addition to its current portfolio, which includes connectivity and technological solutions for farm management, the move is set to enable the firm to equip small and medium-sized farmers with connectivity services.
Supporting Brazil’s agribusiness industry
According to the information detailed in the press release, the new equity round brings Agrolend’s secured capital since 2021 to nearly USD 100 million and scaled its capital base to USD 100 million. This balance sheet is set to allow the company to expand its credit offerings to more industries, retailers, and cooperatives without scaling its leverage ratio.
Moreover, Agrolend centres its efforts on assisting Brazilian farmers in their objectives of extending their operations globally. The digital bank delivers farmers simplified and optimised credit for the purchase of agricultural inputs, crop protection, and crop nutrition. Also, the loans provided by Agrolend are formalised via the issuance of a CPR-F, which is then signed through the farmer’s WhatsApp, with the company disbursing the capital directly at the point of sale. At the time of the announcement, Agrolend financed small and medium-sized farmers for the purchase of inputs from industries, retailers, and cooperatives across 15 regions in Brazil.
