By Ify Mgbemena
The push to unlock private capital for Nigeria’s agribusiness sector is moving beyond investor introductions, with Propcom+ and the Nigeria Agribusiness Register (NAR) putting mechanisms in place to track businesses from initial pitching and investor interest through to actual financing and business growth.
More than 60 agribusinesses pitched at the recent Agribusiness Deal Room in Abuja, exceeding the initial target of 45 businesses. As of the end of September, about 18 businesses had been matched with investors, while six had recorded substantial deal origination, according to Propcom+ Strategy Director, Dr. Olumide Ojo.
In this exclusive interview with AgroNigeria, Ojo explains Propcom+’s role in the partnership with NAR, the mechanisms being used to move businesses beyond pitching into concrete financing, and how investment-readiness support can improve profitability and scalability. He also discusses the financing products needed to reflect agricultural production cycles, the indicators being tracked to measure the Deal Room’s impact, and how improved agribusiness financing could ultimately contribute to Nigeria’s food security.
*What is Propcom+‘s specific role in the partnership with the Nigeria Agribusiness Register, and what gap is the partnership seeking to address?*
Propcom+ works with partners across the agricultural ecosystem to improve the functioning and performance of markets, including inputs, seeds, fertiliser, finance, processing and mechanisation. The broader objective is to improve farmers’ productivity, income and resilience, particularly to climate change.
These areas are interconnected. Farmers need inputs to produce, finance to acquire those inputs, and markets to sell their produce. Our role is therefore to work with private-sector partners across the value chain to improve how these different market actors function and to integrate smallholder farmers into supply, sourcing and processing chains.
The Deal Room fits into that mandate. Propcom+ has sought to create platforms where agribusinesses can engage directly with lenders, investors, insurance companies and development finance institutions. The aim is to help both sides better understand each other, particularly because investors and lenders need a clear understanding of an agribusiness’s operating model and financing needs before committing capital.
Neither Propcom+ nor NAR is new to this model. Propcom+ hosted a Deal Room in 2025, while NAR had also implemented Deal Room initiatives with support from Sterling Bank. The recent partnership therefore builds on existing experience.
Our specific role is to facilitate the interaction between the demand side — agribusinesses and entrepreneurs — and the supply side, comprising lenders, investors, development finance institutions, corporate organisations and other providers of finance or business support.
We are also supporting NAR with the capacity, tools, techniques and connections required to continue convening these engagements effectively. NAR will continue beyond the lifespan of Propcom+, so the objective is to strengthen its ability to sustain these platforms. Ultimately, we also have a responsibility to hold the different market actors within the ecosystem accountable for performing their roles effectively.
*Beyond connecting agribusinesses with investors at the Deal Room, what mechanisms are being put in place to ensure that viable businesses actually progress from pitching and engagement to concrete financing and investment transactions?*
Pitching is an event, but what happens afterwards is even more important. That is why the support began before the Deal Room itself. The participating businesses went through pre-Deal Room engagements, mentorship, business-plan and financial reviews, cash-flow analysis and other investment-readiness support.
After the pitching, there are three key mechanisms.
The first is the use of transaction brokers. These specialists support businesses that have attracted interest from investors or lenders and help move those engagements towards actual transactions. Their support can include documentation, due diligence, adjustments to business models and the presentation of financial projections to meet the requirements of potential financiers.
The second is the creation of a pipeline. We track the businesses that pitched alongside the investors or lenders that expressed interest in them. That pipeline is then assigned to transaction brokers who can take those relationships forward towards completion. The brokers and businesses can agree on a mutually acceptable success fee for the support provided.
The third is continuous tracking. We conduct quarterly reviews of the pipeline with NAR and the transaction advisers and brokers to determine how many businesses have accessed funding and what stage the others have reached. One may still be undergoing due diligence, another may be addressing documentation requirements, while another may be adjusting its business plan or financial projections.
The objective is to ensure that there is continuous monitoring and feedback from deal origination through to deal closure. The period between those two stages requires strong follow-up, and that is what these mechanisms are designed to provide.
*How does Propcom+ expect the Deal Room to improve profitability and scalability of participating agribusinesses, particularly those that have struggled to access suitable financing?*
The Deal Room was only one part of a much broader intervention. Before businesses got there, we provided what we call investment-readiness support.
Lenders and investors want to see a properly structured business, a viable market, sufficient cash flow and a clear understanding of the risks within the sector, alongside strategies for managing those risks. Whether the business is in agriculture, telecommunications or oil and gas, those fundamentals matter.
Many agribusinesses struggle to meet these requirements, which affects their ability to attract finance. So, behind the scenes, we examine their structures, systems, production, operations, sourcing and trading models, identify leakages and help them improve their efficiency.
Improved production efficiency can strengthen profitability, while profitability creates the foundation for growth. Scalability is essentially about having a viable business model that addresses a genuine market need and generates sufficient margins to sustain and expand the business.
For example, a business operating in one or two local government areas in Kano may become profitable and then seek to expand into six local government areas. That is growth, and sustained growth is what ultimately creates scale.
For businesses that have previously struggled to access finance, the issue is often not simply the availability of capital. Investors and lenders want confidence that their money can be deployed safely and productively. Our role is to help businesses close the gaps in their models so that they are better prepared to attract and utilise finance.
*What measurable outcomes does Propcom+ expect from this initiative in terms of private sector investment, business support, jobs creation, and productivity?*
Private-sector investment mobilised is one of the key indicators we are tracking. We want to know how much additional finance moves from lenders and investors into agribusinesses through the initiative.
For example, if a bank’s aggregate lending portfolio to agribusinesses is ₦1 billion before the Deal Room and rises to ₦1.6 billion over the following year, that increase provides a measurable indication of additional financing going into the sector.
We will also look at the contribution being made by the businesses themselves. Investors want to see that business owners have some level of commitment to the enterprises they are asking others to finance.
The number of businesses that actually access finance is another important indicator. From the pipeline created through the Deal Room, we will track how many businesses ultimately receive financing. We will also monitor whether financial institutions develop or adapt financing products to better suit agricultural businesses.
For instance, a maize farmer may need financing for inputs several months before harvesting and generating revenue. A loan structured around immediate monthly repayments may therefore not fit that production cycle. The same applies to aggregators who require trade finance that aligns with their purchasing and revenue cycles.
So, we will be looking at whether financial institutions adjust their products based on a better understanding of the businesses they are financing. Jobs created and productive capacity expanded will also be tracked.
*What role do you see this initiative playing in enhancing food security in Nigeria?*
Ultimately, everything we are doing should contribute to the national food security agenda. Propcom+ is contributing to the efforts of government, the private sector and other development organisations working towards food security in Nigeria.
When you support one agribusiness, you can potentially reach hundreds or thousands of smallholder farmers connected to that business. If an agribusiness accesses finance, for instance, it can procure inputs and provide them to farmers on credit. Those farmers can then cultivate, harvest, sell their produce and repay the financing.
Food security has four dimensions: availability, accessibility, affordability and utilisation. All four have to be addressed.
Availability is about production. Accessibility considers whether people can physically access food from farms and markets, including the condition of roads and the security of those routes. Affordability is equally important because food can be available but still be too expensive for consumers.
For example, where farmers suffer significant post-harvest losses because of poor roads and delays in transporting perishable produce to market, those losses can ultimately increase the cost of the food that reaches consumers.
Utilisation relates to nutrition and health.
So, if more agribusinesses gain access to appropriate finance, they can provide smallholder farmers with inputs, insurance and technology, contributing to increased production. But production alone is not enough. The food must still move from farms to markets, which makes good roads, security and functioning value chains essential to achieving food security.
*Beyond the initial investor’s interests generated at the Deal Room, what specific results will Propcom+ and NAR track to determine whether those engagements are translating into actual financing and business growth?*
The focus is to track the businesses from the point where investor interest is generated through to actual access to finance. We already have a tracking system, and we review progress against the pipeline.
The scale of interest was significant. NAR initially planned to bring about 20 businesses to the Deal Room, but the partnership expanded that target to 45, with an emphasis on creating opportunities for women-led agribusinesses. Ultimately, more than 60 businesses pitched to investors and lenders.
As of the end-of-September tracking point, about 18 businesses had been matched with investors. That means investors had expressed interest in the businesses and wanted to engage further beyond the initial 10-to-15-minute pitch. Of those 18, six had reached substantial deal origination.
The important thing now is to continue tracking what happens to those businesses after that initial interest. We want to know how many ultimately secure financing and, particularly, how many businesses that had never accessed formal credit before are able to do so for the first time.
That is an important focus for us because some of these businesses are already operating and have demonstrated potential, but their inability to access finance has constrained their growth. So the success of the Deal Room will ultimately be reflected not simply in the number of businesses that pitched or attracted investor interest, but in how many progress through the pipeline, access finance and are able to grow.
