Nile raises $11.3M to expand its digital marketplace for african farmers

With fresh funding, the South African agri-tech startup aims to streamline agricultural trade and financing across Southern Africa.

South African agri-tech company Nile has raised $11.3 million (ZAR200 million) to grow its presence in Southern Africa and enhance its digital ecosystem for agricultural trade. The round was led by the Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, with participation from FMO, the Dutch development bank, and existing investor Platform Investment Partners. This brings Nile’s total funding to approximately $16.4 million.

Founded in 2021, Nile helps farmers sell produce, purchase inputs, and access financing through an integrated digital platform. The company’s goal is to reduce friction across the agricultural value chain, cutting out intermediaries, improving price transparency, and accelerating payments.

“Farmers have quickly adopted our digital model,” said co-founder Louis de Kock. “Now we’re building a broader ecosystem to deliver even more value and reduce risks in the process.”

Nile’s platform goes beyond online trading. Farmers can source everything from seeds and fertilizer to packaging and logistics services. The company also partners with financial institutions to offer credit and provides instant payments upon delivery to ease cash flow pressures.

Operating mainly in Southern Africa, Nile connects local producers to buyers across the continent and in export markets like the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

“Nile is transforming how fresh produce is traded in Africa,” said Henry Rahmann of AfricInvest. “By combining trading, inputs, and financing in one platform, they’re enabling farmers to build stronger, more resilient businesses.”

This investment reflects a growing trend: agri-tech platforms that offer bundled services, market access, input supply, and embedded finance, are increasingly seen as key to modernizing farming in emerging markets. According to AgFunder, agri marketplaces and agri-fintech startups represented nearly half of upstream investment in developing economies in 2024, growing 77% year over year.

As Nile continues to scale, its ambition is to become a central hub for African agriculture, helping farmers thrive in a digital-first economy while connecting local supply with global demand.