Tomato Jos receives USD 2.5 million AgriFI investment to scale climate-smart tomato production and processing in Nigeria
EU-funded financing through AgriFI’s ACP Regional Window will support local processing, smallholder farmers and lower-carbon operations.
Brussels / Abuja, 22 September 2026 — EDFI Management Company (EDFI MC), through, the European Union-funded Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFI), has signed a USD 2.5 million convertible-note investment in Tomato Jos Inc., a vertically integrated tomato farming and processing business in northern Nigeria. Financed through AgriFI’s ACP Regional Window, the investment will support the company’s product expansion, lower its production costs and deepen its engagement with smallholder farmers.
Tomato Jos produces and sells consumer-packaged tomato paste nationwide in Nigeria. Its model combines farm operations, smallholder sourcing and local processing, helping to convert fresh tomatoes into value-added products for the domestic market. More than half of the company’s raw materials are sourced from local smallholder farmers in Kaduna State.
The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Gautier Mignot, underlined the significance of the initiative, noting that Nigeria’s agricultural sector has strong potential to create jobs, strengthen food security and build more resilient local value chains. “Through the EU-funded AgriFI ACP Regional Window, this investment in Tomato Jos supports a Nigerian business that is creating local value from farm to shelf, reducing post-harvest losses and expanding market opportunities for smallholder farmers, particularly women. It is a practical example of how the European Union works with partners to mobilise sustainable private investment in inclusive and climate-smart agriculture,” he said.
The investment will finance packaging equipment, factory upgrades and the expansion of drip irrigation, while supporting the company’s plans to expand product formats and serve new customer segments, including B2B and horeca customers. It is expected to strengthen the economics of local tomato processing by lowering energy and production costs.
Rodrigo Madrazo, Chief Executive Officer, EDFI MC, said: “Tomato Jos combines a compelling commercial model with tangible development impact. Its integrated approach links farmers to reliable offtake while providing access to land, irrigation, inputs and technical support that can help raise productivity and incomes. AgriFI’s investment through the ACP Regional Window will enable targeted investments in drip irrigation and packaging capacity, helping to expand the product offer, reduce production costs, and catalyse further private investment for its next stage of growth.”
By 2029, Tomato Jos expects to increase annual fresh-tomato production to approximately 16.000 tonnes, compared with just over 4.500 tonnes today. The company aims to expand its annual engagement from an estimated 500 smallholder farmers to 1500 farmers by 2029, while increasing income per farmer by more than 150% between 2024 and 2029.
Mira Mehta, Founder & CEO, Tomato Jos Inc concludes “AgriFI’s investment supports important next steps in building a resilient tomato value chain in northern Nigeria. It will enable investments that expand our production and market reach, reduce our energy costs and carbon footprint, and deepen our work with smallholder farmers. Our objective is to make locally produced, high-quality tomato paste more accessible to Nigerian consumers while creating better and more reliable economic opportunities for the farming communities we work with.”
Tomato Jos’ operations contribute to food security and import substitution by reducing post-harvest losses and increasing the availability of locally processed tomato paste. The proposed investment is also expected to catalyse a USD 6 million equity round in 2028, representing an anticipated leverage factor of 3.2x.
About EDFI Management Company and AgriFI
EDFI Management Company (EDFI MC) is a multilaterally owned impact asset manager that designs and manages blended finance facilities to mobilise private investment in sustainable development. The company enables European development finance institutions, development banks and private investors to scale up their impact, particularly in markets and sectors that are underserved by commercial finance.
AgriFI, the EU Agriculture Financing Initiative, is an impact investment facility funded by the European Union and managed by EDFI Management Company, with a mandate to unlock, accelerate and leverage sustainable investments in agri‑SMEs in developing countries, with a specific focus on smallholder inclusiveness. The AgriFI ACP Regional Window is a dedicated allocation targeting entities operating in specific agriculture value chains in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, with support from the OACPS Secretariat. For more information visit
www.agrifi.eu and www.edfimc.eu.
About Tomato Jos
Tomato Jos is a vertically integrated tomato farming and processing company located in northern Nigeria. It produces consumer-packaged tomato products for the Nigerian market and works with local smallholder farmers to source fresh tomatoes for processing.
