Sam Aderubo runs Honey Pride Arua in northern Uganda. With support from a concessional loan, he upgraded his equipment, expanded his markets and created jobs in his community. He is now preparing for a second round of financing.

Sam’s story is not exceptional. It is the investment thesis in miniature.

There remains a significant divide between the demand for capital in African agriculture and the supply of affordable, patient finance that can actually reach SMEs. That gap is not a failure of ambition it is a structural challenge that thoughtful capital can help solve.

Programmes such as UNCDF’s support for Uganda’s START II facility aim to unlock commercial lending for hundreds of agribusinesses and thousands of smallholder farmers, with a strong focus on women-led businesses.

We operate in this exact space. We believe de-risking agricultural SMEs is not philanthropy  it is the practical work of building resilient supply chains, processing capacity and local economic strength that can deliver long-term commercial returns.

The lesson from Sam is straightforward: give capable people access to the right capital at the right time, and the results can be quietly remarkable.