Nairobi, May 5 -- East African agritech company Apollo Agriculture has raised Sh276 million in local currency debt to support the financing of inputs for nearly 24,000 smallholder farmers in Kenya.

Under the venture, Apollo will fund inputs, including seeds and fertiliser, while part of the farmers' harvest will be sold to recoup the investment under a securitisation plan. IDH Farmfit Fund, a blended finance impact fund, has mobilised the bulk of the Sh276 million debt financing while Kaleidofin, an India headquartered financial services platform, has de-risked the project by providing credit rating services.

The parties have not disclosed terms of the financing to farmers including interest rate charged.

Inputs to farmers are, however...