Agrolend, a São Paulo, Brazil-based digital bank for the agribusiness sector, raised USD 53m in Series C funding.
The round was led by Creation Investments, and Syngenta Group Ventures, with participation from Vivo Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Vivo, L4, the independent corporate venture capital representing B3, Norinchukin Bank, Valor Capital, Lightrock, Yara Growth Ventures, Provence Capital, SP Ventures, Barn, among others.
The new round brings the company to nearly $100m in total funding.
Additionally, the company has increased its capital base to approximately $100m, which will enable them to expand its credit offerings to industries, retailers, and cooperatives without increasing its leverage ratio, in line with its history of low-risk growth. Agrolend’s goal is to grow the credit portfolio to $600m, serving approximately 10,000 small and medium-sized farmers across Brazil.
Founded less than four years ago by entrepreneurs André Glezer (CEO), Alan Glezer (CFO), Valéria Bonadio (CCO), Leopoldo Vettor (CTO), and Carlos Fagundes (CSO), Agrolend focuses on supporting farmers via a lending platform for the purchase of agricultural inputs such as seeds, crop protection, and crop nutrition. With the loan formalized through the issuance of a CPR-F (“Cédula de Produto Rural Financeira”), signed via the farmer’s WhatsApp, Agrolend disburses the capital with agility. Supported by its extensive distribution channel of over 150 partners (retailers, industries, and cooperatives), the company provides credit directly at the point of sale, making the process much more convenient for the farmer.
The company finances loans through the issuance of time deposits, with funds specifically allocated to the agribusiness sector (LCAs – “Letras de Crédito do Agronegócio”), which are distributed across the country’s investment platforms, such as XP, Itaú, BTG, Ágora, Nu Invest, among others.
Agrolend operates in more than 15 states in Brazil and supports various crops, such as soybeans, corn, coffee, sugarcane, fruits, and vegetables, livestock, among others.
FinSMEs
18/10/2024