Inua Impact Fund

Period

2023

Country

Uganda

Sector

Agriculture

Financial facility

AgriFI

AgriFi investment in Inua will help early stage and high-growth Ugandans SMEs.

Project overview

INUA IMPACT FUND is the first resident impact equity fund in Uganda investing, with a gender lens, in high-potential entrepreneurs and SMEs having financing needs between $100,000 to $500,000. INUA invests with a gender lens, an approach that seeks to correct gender imbalances in the private sector economy and narrow the gap for women in access to capital.

EDFI AgriFI invest in INUA IMPACT FUND to support the development of the agriculture SME portfolio of the fund. By supporting INUA, EDFI AgriFI expects to reach between ~3,000 smallholders over 10 years in rural Uganda via investments in 10 local SMEs.

Funding objective

INUA raised $8 million to make up to 30 investments of between $100,000– $500,000 into early stage and high-growth Ugandans SMEs over the next 10 years.

AgriFI invested in INUA IMPACT FUND to support the development of the agriculture SME portfolio of the fund with equity/quasi equity needs between $100K-500K, a dynamic but underserved segment in Uganda. By supporting INUA, EDFI AgriFI expects to reach ~3,000 smallholders over 10 years in rural Uganda via investments in 10 SMEs.

Investment rationale

Creation of a local ecosystem for private equity:

INUA team is based in Uganda and deeply rooted into the local business community
High leverage additionality: AgriFI funds will be catalytic to attract other investors in the funds
Jobs creation: 30 SMEs supported and 4,000 direct jobs created over 10 years and sustained in the portfolio.