Branded foods and sustainable packaging. These are just two of the areas in West Africa’s agribusiness sector where investment firm Sahel Capital sees attractive opportunities. How we made it in Africa spoke to Tosin Ojo, a partner at Sahel, who shared her insights from successfully investing in the region’s agribusiness industry.
Topics discussed during the interview include:
- Sahel Capital’s new West African agribusiness investment fund
- Lessons learnt from investing in the agribusiness industry
- Notable previous investments
- Areas of opportunity in West Africa’s agribusiness sector
- Sub-sectors the fund will avoid
Watch the full interview below:
Interview summary
Lagos-based investment firm Sahel Capital has launched its second private equity vehicle, the Sahel Capital Agribusiness Fund II (SCAF II). The fund has already secured $29 million towards its $75 million target and has executed its first investment.
SCAF II will target West African agribusiness companies, focusing primarily on Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal. The fund will make investments ranging from $3 million to $15 million in these entities. According to Tosin Ojo, a partner at Sahel Capital, Nigeria has a more developed agribusiness sector than the other three countries, as well as larger companies operating in the space.
Standout previous investments
SCAF II is the successor to Sahel’s Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN), launched in 2014.
Ojo highlighted L&Z Integrated Farms, a dairy and yoghurt producer based in the northern Nigerian state of Kano, as a standout investment from that fund. When Sahel acquired a 25% stake in 2015, L&Z’s footprint was limited to Kano and a few neighbouring states. Backed by Sahel’s capital, the company significantly scaled its production capacity and expanded its supermarket distribution nationwide. By the time Sahel exited in 2022 – selling its stake back to the founder – L&Z’s revenues had grown more than tenfold.
Another notable investment from the first fund was Coscharis Farms, a rice processing business in the southeastern Nigerian state of Anambra. The investment was predicated on Nigeria’s high rice consumption as a domestic staple and the potential for import substitution. Despite being a major grower, Nigeria faced a significant shortfall between supply and demand, relying heavily on imports.
Coscharis Group, a major Nigerian conglomerate, launched the rice farm as one of its first forays into agriculture. The group brought Sahel Capital on board as a strategic partner at the inception stage to help start up and stabilise the business.
At the time of Sahel’s initial investment, Coscharis Farms had only a few hundred hectares under cultivation and lacked a processing plant. Sahel’s capital financed the construction of a processing facility and expanded the land under cultivation. In addition to its own rice production, the company also buys rice from thousands of small-scale farmers. According to Ojo, both revenue and profits grew significantly during the time Sahel was invested in the company. FAFIN exited the business in 2023, selling its stake back to the parent group.
Areas of opportunity
Within the broader agribusiness and food sector, Ojo is particularly optimistic about branded packaged foods. She notes that Sahel is seeking businesses capable of distributing their brands across multiple West African countries. The firm also favours food companies that are integrated into the local value chain, such as those sourcing raw materials directly from smallholder farmers.
Reflecting this strategy, SCAF II’s first investment was in Delifrost Caterers, a Nigerian manufacturer and distributor of food products ranging from cheese and sausages to frozen vegetables.
Ojo also identified food packaging – particularly sustainable packaging – as a target area for the fund.
However, SCAF will not invest in pure primary agriculture. Ojo noted that primary farming does not align with the typical private equity model, which requires firms to exit their investments after a set number of years. The fund will, however, consider farming businesses that incorporate their own processing operations.
Facts Only
Sahel Capital is a Lagos-based investment firm.
Sahel Capital Agribusiness Fund II (SCAF II) has been launched with a $75 million target.
SCAF II has secured $29 million and made its first investment in Delifrost Caterers.
The fund focuses on agribusiness companies in Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.
Investments range from $3 million to $15 million per company.
Nigeria’s agribusiness sector is described as more developed than Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.
Sahel Capital’s first fund, FAFIN, was launched in 2014.
FAFIN invested in L&Z Integrated Farms, a dairy producer in Kano, Nigeria, acquiring a 25% stake in 2015.
L&Z Integrated Farms expanded nationwide and grew revenues tenfold by 2022.
FAFIN also invested in Coscharis Farms, a rice processing business in Anambra, Nigeria.
Coscharis Farms expanded land under cultivation and built a processing plant with Sahel’s capital.
Sahel exited both L&Z and Coscharis Farms by selling stakes back to founders or parent groups.
SCAF II targets branded packaged foods and sustainable packaging.
The fund will not invest in pure primary agriculture but may consider farming businesses with processing operations.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative presents a compelling case for agribusiness investment in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, where Sahel Capital has demonstrated success in scaling local enterprises. The strongest version of this argument highlights the region’s untapped potential, the role of private equity in driving growth, and the strategic focus on value-added sectors like branded foods and sustainable packaging. However, the analysis could benefit from deeper scrutiny of risks, such as political instability, infrastructure gaps, or currency fluctuations, which are common challenges in West African markets but are only implicitly acknowledged here.
Patterns detected: none
The paradigm driving this narrative is one of market-driven development, where private capital is positioned as a catalyst for agricultural modernization and import substitution. The unstated assumption is that private equity’s profit motives align seamlessly with broader economic development goals—a claim that warrants skepticism, given the potential for extractive practices or short-termism in emerging markets. Historically, this echoes post-colonial development models that prioritize foreign investment as a panacea, often without sufficient safeguards for local stakeholders.
For human agency and dignity, the implications are mixed. Smallholder farmers benefit from integration into value chains, but the focus on scalable, branded businesses may sideline informal or subsistence producers. The second-order consequences could include increased food security through import substitution, but also greater consolidation of market power in the hands of a few well-capitalized firms.
Bridge questions: How might the fund’s exit strategies impact the long-term stability of its portfolio companies? What safeguards exist to ensure that smallholder farmers are not exploited as suppliers to larger agribusinesses? Would the fund’s success metrics change if measured by social impact rather than financial returns?
Counterstrike scan: A coordinated influence campaign might exaggerate the fund’s developmental impact while downplaying risks, using selective success stories to attract capital. However, the content here does not match that pattern—it presents a balanced view of past investments and acknowledges strategic limitations (e.g., avoiding primary agriculture). No structural alignment with manipulative tactics is detected.
Sentinel — Human
The article exhibits strong indicators of human authorship, including detailed case studies, regional expertise, and a natural narrative structure. No significant stylometric or coordination red flags were detected.