AECF Makes Its First $450,000 Investment in Two AFF Portfolio Startups

African founders are building businesses with the potential to create significant economic and social impact. The biggest challenge, however, is accessing the right capital for the right startup at the right stage of growth—fit-for-purpose capital.

This is where Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) is playing an increasingly important role. As the innovation hub of Access Bank, AFF works at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, finance and market access. Through its partnership with Village Capital under the Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility (AECF), AFF is helping identify promising African startups, strengthen their investment readiness and connect them with capital and opportunities to scale. The first investment from the Facility has seen $450,000 invested in two of AFF’s portfolio startups: TradeLenda and Airsmat.

For early-stage businesses, raising money is not simply about finding an investor. The capital.

The Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility is a USD 4M investment facility designed to unlock early-stage capital for startups in Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania that are advancing climate resilience and economic mobility. Managed by Village Capital, the Facility pioneers a locally-led investment model by partnering with in-market Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs). These local partners help identify strong founder teams, shape investment pipelines, and advise on due diligence, ensuring capital is invested where it has the greatest local impact and fit-for-purpose. The Facility is backed by the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank(FMO), and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency(RVO), two leading institutions championing inclusive, sustainable development through entrepreneurship. As a leading impact investor, FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in emerging markets, while RVO executes and implements programmes that strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems and improve access to early-stage finance, including Orange Corners and the Orange Corners Innovation Fund (OCIF). AFF was selected as one of two ecosystem partners in Nigeria because of its strong relationships with startups and its understanding of the opportunities and challenges shaping African businesses.

Small and medium-sized businesses are essential to African economies, yet many continue to struggle to access suitable financing. TradeLenda is addressing this gap through technology-enabled digital business loans, embedded finance and Sharia-compliant financing solutions. The company has already supported more than 260,000 SMEs and farmers across five of Nigeria's six geopolitical zones, with women representing 66% of its customer base. The AECF investment will help TradeLenda accelerate its growth, pursue a higher licence and strengthen its position to attract more competitive funding. For TradeLenda, the investment is therefore about more than deploying additional capital. It provides the resources and credibility needed to build the infrastructure required to reach more underserved businesses. As Co-Founder and CEO Adeshina Adewumi explains, access to capital at this stage is critical to accelerating growth, obtaining a higher licence and attracting more competitive funding.

AirSmat is tackling another major African challenge: climate resilience and sustainable agriculture. The climate-tech company converts agricultural waste into biochar-based fertiliser, creating a solution that can remove carbon, improve soil health and increase agricultural productivity. Its ambition goes even further. By creating pathways for farmers to participate in carbon markets, AirSmat is exploring how climate action can also create new income opportunities and support sustainable livelihoods. The AECF investment will help AirSmat complete and commission its commercial biochar-based fertiliser factory, strengthen manufacturing capacity and expand its market reach. The company's story highlights an important feature of African innovation: some of the continent's greatest opportunities exist where technology, agriculture, climate action and economic inclusion intersect. These investments are more than funding announcements. They demonstrate how local ecosystem knowledge, startup support and global capital can work together to help African businesses move from potential to scale.

AFF's position within the Access Bank ecosystem gives startups an additional advantage: market access. Access Bank's extensive presence across African markets creates opportunities for startups to connect with financial services, businesses and consumers. Through AFF, portfolio companies can gain exposure to corporate partnerships, industry networks, business development opportunities and potential access to Access Bank's ecosystem of more than 60 million customers. Capital gives a startup the ability to build. Market access gives it the opportunity to test, improve and scale what it has built. That combination of capital, capability and market access is central to AFF's role in Africa's innovation ecosystem—and to building stronger pathways for African founders to move from potential to scale.