Nigeria-based Aruwa Capital Management is supporting the livelihoods and financial inclusion of female hibiscus farmers with a follow-on investment in agricultural processor AgroEknor.
Women make up about 40% of Africa’s agricultural workforce. AgroEknor, which works with 3,000 smallholder farmers in Nigeria and Ghana, processes hibiscus flowers for the international market. Most of its suppliers are women.
AgroEknor has helped farmers more than double their yields through its Farmers Education and Empowerment Project, which provides training, and its YieldPro software to help farmers estimate and manage production and monitor soil health.
Aruwa first invested in AgroEknor in 2022. Aruwa’s Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes cited the company’s “capacity for sustainable growth and significant impact.”
Clean beauty
WIC Capital, a women-led and -focused fund manager in Senegal, likewise reupped its investment in Dakar-based l’Arbre de Vie, which makes natural cosmetic products from ingredients grown by Senegalese producers. The company sells its hair and skin products under the brand Gold Essences Cosmetics and white-labels products for other companies. A key focus: providing Africans with alternatives to expensive imported cosmetics.
WIC’s investment will help l’Arbre de Vie set up a cosmetics laboratory that meets international standards, opening up new market channels.
Noted WIC’s Evelyne Dioh, “Arbre de Vie’s growth will significantly impact women producers who are integral to the company’s value chain.”
