Myfarmbase Africa, an agritech organization has announced its plan to launch a cooperative that will leverage partnership with Sterling Bank Plc and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to provide financing for youths in Agribusiness.
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The founder, Myfarmbase Africa, Oluwafemi Royal Aliu, in a statement disclosed that the cooperative will unlock debt financing from its partner, Sterling Bank Plc through its Sterling Women and Youth (SWAY Mastercard Fund) valued at over N200m for participants trained during the Agritech Lab.

Agritech Lab was launched in 2018 for Nigerian youths to access Agritech skills and training to help them unlock Agritech jobs or get self-employment in the business of agriculture. Since 2018, the program has since trained over 10,000 youths in partnership with top Agritech firms in Nigeria including AFEX, Binkabi etc.

The firm noted that Sterling Bank will serve as the major financing company while IITA-BIP, the business arm of IITA will assist participants with technical support and field implementation of the proposed bio-technologically engineered cassava production in Oyo State, Nigeria.
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“This finance is debt finance under the blended finance of Sterling Bank known as Mastercard SWAY Agfin fund specifically for women and youth,” Aliu said.

“The partnership also organized trainees of Myafrmbase under a cooperative known as Frontiers Cooperative for contiguous fund management and to drive the biotech developed cassava variety by IITA in Ibadan.”

Myfarmbase Africa provides Agritech training to support young people to secure agritech jobs and launch agritech businesses.

“It is our hope that this financing creates additional 200 direct jobs and over 1200 indirect jobs,” Aliu added.
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