Apollo Agriculture
Apollo Agriculture is a Nairobi-based agtech platform founded in 2016 that uses machine-learning credit scoring to provide smallholder farmers in Kenya and Zambia with integrated financing, agricultural inputs, training, and insurance via a 1,000+ agrodealer network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Apollo Agriculture does
Apollo Agriculture is a Nairobi-based agtech company founded in 2016 that provides an integrated bundle of financing, agricultural inputs, training, and insurance to smallholder farmers in Kenya and Zambia. The company serves primarily rural, unbanked or under-banked farmers who lack the financial records required to access traditional credit, and addresses a pain set spanning poor input access, low yields, climate vulnerability, and absence of formal risk protection. Apollo reports serving 350,000+ farmers as of 2026, supported by a 1,000+ agrodealer pickup network and a commission-earning field agent base averaging Ksh 30,000 per month, with team members in 11 countries.
The platform is anchored on proprietary machine-learning credit models that ingest remote sensing data, farmer-provided information, and third-party Credit Reference Bureau records to deliver instant credit decisions for thin-file borrowers. Additional AI/ML capabilities include crop monitoring models that dynamically adjust loan repayment deadlines to harvest timing, climate-smart variety recommendations based on soil data, and AI-augmented field officer systems for financial literacy and product advisory. The product surface comprises the Apollo Approved Bundle (inputs plus financing plus insurance), Chagua for year-round crop and animal husbandry financing, a digital store accessed via the Apollo App on Google Play, and AI extension services.
Apollo's revenue model combines agricultural input sales (transaction-based margin on seeds, fertilizer, animal feed, and drying sheets), credit spreads on financing extended to smallholder farmers, bundled insurance products, and commission-based agent and agrodealer economics. Pricing includes a one-time 100 KES field marking fee, a 10% minimum down payment, a 100 KES or 2% monthly maintenance fee (whichever is higher), and bulk harvest-tied repayment. Go-to-market is hybrid: community-led via field agents for trust and onboarding, with product-led growth through the mobile app for self-service credit and ordering. The company has raised nearly $70 million in cumulative funding from a mix of venture capital (SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Anthemis), development finance institutions (DFC, CDC, Swedfund, DEG), and impact investors (ABC Fund, IDH Farmfit Fund, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative).
Apollo Agriculture firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Apollo Agriculture
- Legal name
- Apollo Agriculture, Inc.
- Website
- https://apolloagriculture.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Apollo Agriculture is a Nairobi-based agtech platform founded in 2016 that uses machine-learning credit scoring to provide smallholder farmers in Kenya and Zambia with integrated financing, agricultural inputs, training, and insurance via a 1,000+ agrodealer network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Apollo Agriculture industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Fintech
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Farm Data Management & Decision Support Services (FMIS Setup, Data Integration, Analytics) (AFACACAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) & Farm ERPs (AFAAAFAA), Remote Sensing & Crop Scouting Services (Satellite, Drone Imagery, In‑Field Sensing) (AFACACAA), Farm Finance, Input Procurement & Risk Tools (Budgeting, Inventory, Insurance Links) (AFAAAFAO), Farm Technology Enablement & Data Integration Advisory (FMIS/ERP, IoT, Decision Support) (AFACAJAG)
Keywords
Where Apollo Agriculture is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
Apollo Agriculture business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Agricultural Input Sales: Apollo provides best-in-class farm inputs including seeds, fertiliser, animal feeds, and drying sheets. Farmers purchase these through the Apollo digital store and pick them up at local agrodealers.
- Agricultural Financing/Lending: Apollo provides financing for farmers to purchase inputs on credit. Revenue is generated through the spread on loans extended to smallholder farmers. Farmers receive instant credit decisions powered by ML models and repay through manageable installments.
- Insurance Products: Apollo provides insurance coverage protecting farmers' investments against drought and natural calamities. Insurance is bundled with credit purchases to mitigate farming risks.
- Training and Advisory Services: Free agricultural training and extension services provided to all farmers, enhancing their farming practices and ensuring they maximize their land productivity.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Field Marking Fee |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | Initial Down Payment |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly Maintenance Fee |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | Harvest Repayment |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Agent Commission |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Apollo Agriculture product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Apollo Agriculture provides smallholder farmers in Kenya and Zambia with an integrated bundle of agricultural financing, quality farm inputs (seeds, fertiliser, animal feeds, drying sheets), free training and advisory services, and crop insurance. Credit decisions are made instantly using AI/ML credit models that score unbanked farmers using alternative data such as remote sensing and Credit Reference Bureau records, and inputs are picked up at a network of 1,000+ local agrodealers.
Product overview
Apollo Agriculture operates as a technology-enabled agricultural financing platform serving small-scale farmers in Kenya and Zambia. The platform combines a core financing and input bundle (Apollo Approved) with AI-powered credit scoring for instant lending decisions, a digital store for input purchases, and an agent network for field support. Additional offerings include Chagua for year-round farming and AI extension services for training and crop monitoring. The company partners with over 1,000 agrodealers for distribution and leverages machine learning to serve farmers without traditional financial records.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Apollo Approved Bundle A comprehensive farming package providing financing for best-in-class agricultural inputs including seeds, fertiliser, animal feeds, and drying sheets, combined with free expert training and insurance coverage against drought and natural calamities; designed for smallholder farmers in Kenya and Zambia transitioning from subsistence to commercial farming.
- Chagua A year-round farming product that allows farmers to access agricultural inputs and financing for both crop cultivation and animal husbandry throughout the year; targeted at smallholder farmers who need continuous input access beyond a single planting season.
Quantifiable outcome
- Apollo farmers typically produce 2.5x more than the average Kenyan farmer
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Apollo Agriculture
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Apollo Agriculture technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature5 records
Apollo Agriculture partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- KaleidofincoreKaleidofin provides credit scoring services to de-risk the venture, enabling Apollo to access cheaper local currency financing and offer farmers seeds and fertiliser on credit.
- Leaps by BayermajorApollo featured in Leaps by Bayer platform showcasing how they are building a platform where Africa's farmers thrive and harvest more.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Apollo Agriculture competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- One Acre Fund: Tubura's parent, the closest direct peer to Apollo: serves East African smallholders with an integrated bundle of input financing, training, and crop insurance — essentially the same seed-to-sale model Apollo is replicating with AI/ML credit scoring.
- Pula: Pan-African agricultural insurance and advisory company partnering with input distributors and lenders to embed crop insurance into smallholder financing — directly comparable to Apollo's bundled insurance-plus-credit model.
- SunCulture: Kenya-based climate-smart agritech offering pay-as-you-go solar irrigation and financing to smallholders — shares Apollo's asset-financing + IoT/data approach to serving unbanked farmers.
- ACRE Africa: African agricultural insurance intermediary designing micro-insurance products for smallholder farmers and embedding them in input lending — directly comparable to Apollo's bundled insurance-plus-credit architecture.
Regional players
- Twiga Foods: Kenyan B2B agritech operating a digital marketplace and distribution platform connecting farmers to vendors; serves many of the same Kenyan smallholders but on a B2B offtake model rather than consumer credit.
Emerging players
- iProcure: Kenyan agtech operating a B2B agri-inputs distribution platform with data-driven supply chain and credit tools for agrodealers — overlaps with Apollo's agrodealer network and input financing logic.
- Hello Tractor: Pan-African platform providing asset financing and digital marketplace access to tractor services for smallholders — comparable credit-led model for unbanked farmers, focused on mechanization.
- Farmcrowdy: Nigerian digital agriculture platform offering financing, inputs, and advisory to smallholder farmers across Africa — comparable full-stack smallholder model though focused on West Africa.
- Tulaa: Kenyan agritech providing input financing, advisory, and output marketplace services to smallholder farmers — similar bundled offering aimed at the same Kenyan target customer.
Broad incumbents
- M-KOPA: Kenya-based pay-as-you-go asset financing pioneer serving underbanked customers with mobile-led credit scoring — analogous ML + mobile money credit infrastructure applicable to rural smallholders.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Apollo Agriculture social profiles
Digital presenceApollo Agriculture financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Apollo Agriculture leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Apollo Agriculture funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds13 records
Investors33 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Apollo Agriculture M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Apollo Agriculture
What does Apollo Agriculture do?
Apollo Agriculture provides smallholder farmers in Kenya and Zambia with an integrated bundle of agricultural financing, quality farm inputs (seeds, fertiliser, animal feeds, drying sheets), free training and advisory services, and crop insurance. Credit decisions are made instantly using AI/ML credit models that score unbanked farmers using alternative data such as remote sensing and Credit Reference Bureau records, and inputs are picked up at a network of 1,000+ local agrodealers.
Is Apollo Agriculture a public or private company?
Apollo Agriculture is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Apollo Agriculture founded?
Apollo Agriculture was founded in 2016. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Apollo Agriculture based?
Apollo Agriculture is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does Apollo Agriculture make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Agricultural Input Sales are the primary driver. The others are agricultural Financing/Lending, insurance Products and training and Advisory Services.
Who are Apollo Agriculture's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are One Acre Fund, Pula, SunCulture and ACRE Africa. Twiga Foods is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are iProcure, Hello Tractor, Farmcrowdy and Tulaa. M-KOPA is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Apollo Agriculture have an API?
No public API is recorded for Apollo Agriculture.
What industry is Apollo Agriculture in?
Apollo Agriculture's product category is Agricultural Fintech. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFACACAC, Farm Data Management & Decision Support Services (FMIS Setup, Data Integration, Analytics), with a secondary code of AFAAAFAA, Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) & Farm ERPs. Its SIC code is 700.