West Africa Agricultural Investment Fund

The West Africa Agricultural Investment Fund (“WAAIF”) aims to help alleviate rural poverty and achieve food security in West Africa by investing in the development of a range of high yielding seeds targeted primarily at the region’s smallholder farmers.

WAAIF will invest in small to medium sized seed production companies principally selected from a pool of companies supported by AGRA’s Program for Africa’s Seed Systems (“PASS”). Success of these enterprises will result in improved market access by smallholder farmers to locally adapted and affordable seeds and, in turn, further result in increased productivity, improved food security, and ultimately reduced rural poverty. These companies are now positioned to embark on their next phase of growth with more commercially-focused investment partners.

Effective April 2012, shares of WAAIF were transferred to Injaro Agricultural Holdings Company, Ltd, (IAHCL) a limited liability company sponsored by Injaro. IAHCL aims to raise capital commitments from investors in multiple closing to achieve total commitments of USD 50 million in order to invest in small and medium-sized enterprises along the agricultural value chain. IAHCL was formed as part of a merger and restructuring of WAAIF and West Africa SME Growth Fund (WASGF), a fund created with the investment objective of investing in small and medium sized businesses in the West Africa region; both WAAI and WASGF are private equity funds promoted and managed by Injaro.

Financial description

The primary aim of the fund is to develop West Africa's nascent seed industry by investing in small and growing companies producing improved seed. Given the relatively underdeveloped nature of the sector, it is anticipated that a net IRR of 3% p.a. would be achieved for investors.