ThriveAgric raises $3.93m in first commercial paper sale 

ThriveAgric, the Y Combinator-backed Nigerian agritech startup, has raised ₦5.3 billion ($3.93 million) in the first series of a commercial paper programme that could grow to ₦50 billion ($37.09 million), extending a debt-heavy funding strategy its chief executive officer Uka Eje says is better suited for its business operations. 

The Series 1 issuance, announced on Tuesday during the signing ceremony and media briefing with journalists in Lagos, Nigeria, was oversubscribed after attracting institutional demand above its initial ₦5 billion ($3.7 million) target, the company said. 

The move marks ThriveAgric’s first foray into Nigeria’s debt capital markets and opens another channel beyond bank lending for a company whose core challenge has long been access to the right kind of capital.

“Securing [Nigerian] SEC approval for our ₦50 billion CP [commercial paper] programme and completing this oversubscribed ₦5 billion Series 1 raise validates our disciplined approach to corporate governance and capital management,” Eje said. “Beyond the numbers, this institutional backing provides us with the financial flexibility to scale our operations, deepen our outgrower networks, and ensure prompt off-take for smallholder farmers.”

The commercial paper will fund a different part of the business, not agricultural production, which can take nine to 12 months, Eje said. It will provide working capital for ThriveAgric to buy produce from smallholder farmers through its network, aggregate the commodities, and supply them to off-takers, including food processors and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. 

The faster turnover of those transactions makes this type of debt a better fit for the business. ThriveAgric finances farmers to produce crops and then helps connect their harvests to…