Key Takeaways
- The Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) secured an additional $90 million in committed capital to scale climate-resilient agribusinesses across Africa.
- ARAF, launched in 2020 as the world's first equity fund built to strengthen smallholder farmers' climate resilience, is expanding beyond East and West Africa into North Africa.
- The fund has directly reached more than 3 million smallholder farmers through 12 portfolio companies, with more than 80% reporting higher income and yield.
- Anchor investors include returning backers Green Climate Fund, FMO and Proparco, joined by new investors Swedfund, BIO and FASA, along with a family office investor.
- ARAF aims to reach at least 4 million additional farmers as it expands its portfolio.
Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund Secures $90 Million
The Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) announced it has secured an additional $90 million in committed capital to scale climate-resilient agribusinesses across Africa. The fund builds on activities launched in 2020, when ARAF became the world's first equity fund designed specifically to build the climate resilience of smallholder farmers.
ARAF invests in fast-growing food and agribusiness companies that help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change. The new capital lets the fund expand beyond East and West Africa into North Africa. ARAF has already reached more than 3 million smallholder farmers through 12 portfolio companies, with more than 80% reporting higher income and yield, and aims to reach at least four million additional farmers.
Why Climate Resilience Matters for African Farmers
Smallholder farmers produce nearly 80% of Africa's food, according to IFAD, yet climate shocks such as drought, flooding and increasingly erratic rainfall put their livelihoods and the food systems that depend on them at direct risk. A single failed harvest can ripple out to the regional food supply, and limited access to finance, inputs, agronomy support and markets compounds that risk, leaving farmers with few tools to absorb the shock.
New and Returning Investors Back the Expansion
Anchor investors in the newly committed capital include returning partners Green Climate Fund, FMO and Proparco, all of which have backed ARAF since its inception, joined by new investors Swedfund, BIO and FASA, along with a family office investor.
Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund Leaders on the Expansion
“Climate change is a fact of life, and climate resilience for farmers is the difference between a good season and the risk of losing everything,” said Tamer El-Raghy, Managing Director of ARAF. “This newly committed capital allows us to continue supporting climate resilience for farmers, while seeking to provide financial returns for our investors as we expand beyond East and West Africa into North Africa, where millions of farmers are affected by climate change.”
“ARAF proved that resilience is investable, not theoretical,” said Carsten Stendevad, Acumen's President and Chief Investment Officer. “We're bringing more blended capital and more partners to the table to help smallholder farmers across Africa adapt to a changing climate. This is the kind of capital the moment demands.”
“GCF, having served as the anchor investor in ARAF I, through our ongoing partnership with Acumen has demonstrated how blended finance can mobilize private capital for climate-resilient agriculture,” said Catherin Koffman, Green Climate Fund Director of the Africa Region. “Such financing supports innovative agribusinesses and strengthens the resilience of smallholder farmers and agricultural supply chains.”
