ThriveAgric has completed an oversubscribed debut commercial paper issuance, raising about N5.3 billion after strong institutional demand pushed the company above its initial N5 billion target.
The technology-driven agricultural company said the Series 1 issuance marks its first foray into Nigeria’s debt capital markets and follows approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for its N50 billion commercial paper programme.
The company said the programme will provide a platform to access capital markets funding to support working capital and expansion needs, while strengthening its position across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
Proceeds from the raise will go towards boosting working capital, supporting commodity aggregation and procurement, expanding its network of outgrower farmers and scaling agricultural trading across its operational hubs.
“Securing SEC approval for our N50 Billion CP Programme and completing this oversubscribed N5 Billion Series 1 raise validates our disciplined approach to corporate governance and capital management,” ThriveAgric’s chief executive and co-founder Uka Eje told Nigerian NewsDirect at the signing ceremony on Tuesday.
“Beyond the numbers, this institutional backing provides us with the financial flexibility to scale our operations, deepen our outgrower networks, and ensure prompt off-take for smallholder farmers.
“We are deeply grateful to our investors and capital market partners for their trust as we continue to build a resilient, tech-led agricultural ecosystem across Africa,” Eje said.
The managing director of Anchoria Advisory Services Limited, the lead issuing house, Damilola Titiladunayo, said “the oversubscription of this Series 1 issuance is a strong signal of institutional confidence, both in ThriveAgric’s credit profile and in the structure, we brought to market,”
“As Lead Issuing House, our role was to package a business with real operational depth into a bankable, well-governed capital markets instrument — and the market’s response validates that work.
“This transaction also reflects a broader shift we’re seeing, investors are increasingly ready to back Nigeria’s real economy, including agriculture, through structured capital markets instruments, not just traditional lending. We look forward to supporting ThriveAgric through the remaining tranches of the N50 billion programme,” Titiladunayo added.
ThriveAgric said it has empowered more than 1.2 million smallholder farmers, facilitated more than $150 million in financing and increased grain production over nearly a decade of operations.
The company also thanked transaction advisers, lead and joint arrangers, legal counsel, rating agencies and participating institutional investors, including pension fund administrators, asset managers and commercial banks, for supporting the transaction.