AgroForte, Which Offers Credit to Small Rural Producers, Raises US$1.13 Million

Agroforte, a fintech focused on agribusiness, announced an investment round of $6 million Brazilian reais (equivalent to US$1.13 million). Futurum Capital led the round, and the venture capital funds The Yield Lab, Kelei Ventures and Catalice Investimentos participated. There were also individual investors such as Felipe Moraes, Arthur O’Keefe and Guillermo Araúz.

AgroForte offers credit to small rural producers and helps finance poultry, pig, egg and dairy producers. It does so either through supply contracts with agribusinesses or cooperatively.

With these new funds, AgroForte will expand its offer of credit products and solutions in conjunction with a national growth strategy. It expects to grant around $150 million reais (US$28 million) in financing over the next 18 months.

AgroForte was founded in 2020 by Felipe d’Avila, Gustavo Silva and Carlos Eduardo Mascarenhas in Brazil. The credit application and approval process for producers is through an app, which only requires a registration and digital signature to invest.

The farmer follows the entire flow of financing through the application. The average investment ticket granted by AgroForte is $80,000 reais (US$15,000), and reaches up to $500,000 reais (US$95,000).

In order to guarantee an operation and provide the possibility of offering low interest rates, the installment payment is made by withholding or deduction by the agribusiness. This comes directly from the lot or harvest, with a limit of 30% of the income of the producer.

With little more than two years of operation, the company has already closed more than 10 alliances with agribusinesses and cooperatives. More than 3,000 producers already have access to their lines of credit through the application.

The agricultural sector in Latin America and the Caribbean represents one of the main economic sectors in the region; it has the potential to contribute to improving food security, increasing incomes and reducing poverty. The sector also has a great opportunity for modernization. More than 60% of AgroTech ventures have been created in the last 5 years, according to a study by the Inter-American Development Bank.

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