Brazil’s Agrolend raises $1.6m seed funding for farmer Fintech solution

Founded in December 2020, Agrolend’s goal is to help small and medium-scale farmers access loans more easily. It’s working with traditional agriculture inputs players to partner on the loan origination process. Agrolend just raised $1.6 million in a seed round involving 30 investors

Conventional banks typically lack an understanding of agriculture’s unique challenges, such as inclement weather, market volatility, and the seasonal nature of production – which, along with small-size loan requests, has made it particularly difficult for growers to secure financing from them. Agrolend is trying to fill the lending gap in the market which until now has been filled by agribusiness multinationals.

The São Paulo-based startup’s loans range from 50,000 Brazilian reals ($9,050) to 300,000 reals ($54,300), covering a wide variety of crops. The loans last for up to one year and the farmer pays Agrolend after harvest. The entire process happens online – from requesting the loan, to making the final payment.