AgroCenta
AgroCenta is a Ghana-based agri-fintech operating the Velociti platform, which uses AI and alternative credit scoring to provide micro-loans, mobile payments, savings, and insurance to rural smallholder farmers across Ghana and Burkina Faso.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersPort Louis, Mauritius
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What AgroCenta does
AgroCenta is a Ghana-headquartered agri-fintech company, founded in 2015 by Francis Obirikorang and Michael K. Ocansey (both former esoko employees), that operates a digital platform for financial inclusion of rural smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its core product, Velociti, is a digital financial services platform that uses big data, machine learning, and AI to construct alternative credit profiles for farmers who lack formal financial histories, enabling access to micro loans, mobile payments, savings, insurance, and pensions. The supporting Lendit platform, originally built under GSMA funding, focuses on micro-lending and is integrated with MTN Ghana and Vodafone Ghana mobile money APIs for bulk payments and peer-to-peer transactions. Additional product modules — SAPA (Northern Ghana scaling), SELEVER II (Burkina Faso poultry), SBEP (shea traceability and marketplace), and G4G (grains supply chain for Nestlé off-take) — extend the platform into specific value chains and geographies.
The business model is B2B2C: AgroCenta intermediates between unbanked smallholder farmers and regulated financial institutions, earning transaction fees on loans and payments plus commissions on marketplace activity, while a substantial share of operating capital flows through project-based grants from development partners including AGRA, IDH, ICIPE, Shell Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, GSMA, and FCDO. Go-to-market combines self-serve mobile/web access with field-agent and cooperative-led onboarding, with farmer acquisition largely driven through project partners rather than paid marketing. Since 2020, more than 10,000 farmers have accessed input-financing loans averaging $200, 70,000+ metric tons of food have been distributed, and daily farmer spend has reportedly risen from a baseline to $2.50/day against a $4.00/day target.
The company employs 51–100 staff across offices in Accra, Bolgatanga, and a Delaware-registered HQ entity, and has secured roughly $2.85M+ in cumulative disclosed funding across grants, awards, and accelerator participation through 2023, most recently via the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator cohort.
AgroCenta firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AgroCenta
- Legal name
- Agrocenta Technologies Inc.
- Website
- https://agrocenta.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- AgroCenta is a Ghana-based agri-fintech operating the Velociti platform, which uses AI and alternative credit scoring to provide micro-loans, mobile payments, savings, and insurance to rural smallholder farmers across Ghana and Burkina Faso.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AgroCenta industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Fintech / Digital Financial Services
- NAICS
- Oilseed and Grain Farming (1111), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153), Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Farm Finance, Input Procurement & Risk Tools (Budgeting, Inventory, Insurance Links) (AFAAAFAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Agricultural & Rural Microfinance (FSAKAGAG), SME Credit Underwriting, Scoring & Risk Analytics (FSAKAGAL), SME Lending Platforms & Embedded SME Credit (FSAKAGAJ), Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) & Digital Recordkeeping (AFABAMAD), Agriculture Inputs & Farm Supply Marketplaces (CRAFAHAL)
Keywords
Where AgroCenta is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Port Louis
- HQ country
- Mauritius
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices3 records
Markets served
AgroCenta business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Financial Services Intermediation: AgroCenta acts as an intermediary between smallholder farmers and financial institutions, facilitating access to micro loans, savings, pensions, and digital payments through its Velociti and Lendit platforms. Revenue is generated through transaction fees, lending facilitation fees, and commissions from financial service providers. The platform enables financial institutions to extend credit to previously unbanked farmers by providing alternative credit scoring data.
- Digital Marketplace & Value Chain Services: Platform creates value chain efficiency by connecting farmers to markets, input suppliers, and service providers. Revenue may be derived from transaction facilitation and commissions on agricultural produce trades and input sales facilitated through the platform.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
AgroCenta product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AgroCenta fundamentally operates a digital financial services platform (Velociti and Lendit) that uses big data, machine learning and AI to build alternative credit data for rural smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The platform enables micro lending, mobile payments, insurance, savings and pensions access for previously unbanked farmers, while connecting them to agricultural value chain markets, input suppliers, and service providers. It also provides a digital identity layer for farmers, addressing the foundational cause of financial exclusion in rural agricultural communities.
Product overview
AgroCenta is an AgriTech company offering a platform-plus-modules architecture centered around its core Velociti digital financial services platform. Velociti uses big data, machine learning and AI to build alternative credit data for rural smallholder farmers, enabling access to micro lending, mobile payments, insurance, savings and pensions. Supporting modules include Lendit (micro-lending focused), the SELEVER II Platform (poultry market linkage in Burkina Faso), SAPA Platform (Ghana Northern Regions scaling), SBEP Digital Platform (shea traceability and marketplace), and G4G Digital Platform (grains supply chain). Velociti serves as the unified core while the other products are specialized modules targeting specific value chains and regions across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Velociti: Digital financial services platform accelerating access to digital financial services for underserved smallholder farmers using big data, machine learning and AI to build alternative data for accessing micro lending, mobile payments, insurance, savings and pensions.
- Lendit
Products and services
- Velociti Platform A digital financial services platform that uses big data, machine learning and AI to build alternative credit data for rural smallholder farmers, enabling access to micro lending, mobile payments, insurance, savings and pensions. Targets more than 15 million smallholder farmers across Africa. Velociti also provides a digital identity layer for farmers and value chain actors, foundational to financial inclusion.
- Lendit Platform Digital financial services platform (micro-lending focused) developed under the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Fund to boost service offerings for rural smallholder farmers. Enables bulk payments and P2P transactions through mobile money integrations with MTN Ghana and Vodafone Ghana, and supports on-lending through partner financial institutions such as Pan African Savings & Loans via its QUICK platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 10,000 smallholder farmers accessed input financing loans since 2020
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use AgroCenta
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
AgroCenta technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability3 records
Feature3 records
AgroCenta partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Pan African Savings & Loans (PASL)corePan African Savings & Loans is a joint collaborator with AgroCenta on the FISFAP project, backed by AGRA. PASL leverages AgroCenta's Lendit platform and financial data to on-lend directly to smallholder farmers in Ghana's Afram Plains through digital channels including mobile money and the QUICK platform.
- ICIPE (International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology)coreICIPE is the implementing partner for the SAPA project, driving adoption of AgroCenta's digital platforms for more than 20,000 smallholder farmers in Ghana's 5 Northern Regions. ICIPE brings scientific expertise in insect physiology and agricultural systems to the partnership.
- Farrelly & MitchelminorFarrelly & Mitchel, an agribusiness consulting company, partners with AgroCenta on the SAPA project to drive adoption and growth of digital platforms among smallholder farmers in Ghana's 5 Northern Regions.
- Tanager InternationalcoreTanager International partners with AgroCenta on the SELEVER II project in Burkina Faso, enabling access to market and financial services for more than 20,000 poultry farmers. Tanager provides technical assistance and implementation support for poultry-specific loan products and digital payment channels.
- IDH (The Sustainable Trade Initiative)coreIDH works with AgroCenta on the Grains for Growth (G4G) project, providing technical assistance and strategic support to 12 SMEs in maize, rice, and millet supply chains in Northern Ghana. IDH helps SMEs meet buying requirements of large multinational off-takers such as Nestlé.
- Global Shea AllianceminorGlobal Shea Alliance partners with AgroCenta on the Shea Business Empowerment Program (SBEP), supporting shea collectors and cooperatives with entrepreneurship skills, access to capital, and digital traceability solutions.
- MTN GhanacoreMTN Ghana partnered with AgroCenta through the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Fund project, enabling bulk payments and P2P transactions via MTN's mobile money API technology for rural smallholder farmers in Ghana.
- Vodafone GhanacoreVodafone Ghana partnered with AgroCenta through the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Fund project, integrating with AgroCenta's Lendit platform to enable mobile money bulk payments and P2P transactions for rural farmers through Vodafone's mobile money services.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
AgroCenta competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Tala: Mobile-based underbanked lending platform operating across emerging markets including parts of Africa; comparable alternative credit-scoring and digital disbursement model.
- M-KOPA: Pay-as-you-go solar and asset financing platform serving off-grid East African households via mobile money and credit rails, with comparable fintech-for-the-unbanked mechanics.
- Branch International: Large pan-African mobile lending platform extending credit to underbanked consumers including smallholder-adjacent segments; comparable fintech rails and credit-scoring approach, though broader than agriculture.
Direct peers
- Apollo Agriculture: Kenya-based AgriTech that uses ML-driven credit scoring to deliver input financing and advisory services to smallholder farmers, closely mirroring AgroCenta's Velociti/Lendit model across East Africa.
- Twiga Foods: Kenyan B2B agricultural marketplace with embedded fintech offerings for vendors and farmers; comparable to AgroCenta's combination of value-chain marketplace and digital financial services.
- esoko: Pan-African agri-data platform founded by AgroCenta's co-founders' former employer; operates in adjacent digital farmer services, market information, and value-chain digitization across multiple African markets.
Emerging players
- Cropital: Philippines-based agri-fintech enabling smallholder farmer financing via crowdfunding and credit scoring; shares the alternative-data lending and farmer-onboarding approach, though geographically separate.
- Hello Tractor: Agritech platform connecting smallholder farmers to mechanization via a digital marketplace and embedded financing; comparable platform-plus-finance model serving smallholders in Africa.
- iProcure: Kenyan agricultural inputs marketplace with embedded credit and data services for agro-dealers and farmers; comparable input-financing and value-chain digitization focus.
Others
- Briter Bridges: Africa-focused research and data platform tracking ag-fintech and digital agriculture ecosystems; adjacent ecosystem participant that maps comparable peer activity.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
AgroCenta social profiles
Digital presenceAgroCenta financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AgroCenta leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
AgroCenta funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AgroCenta 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 AgroCenta
What does AgroCenta do?
AgroCenta fundamentally operates a digital financial services platform (Velociti and Lendit) that uses big data, machine learning and AI to build alternative credit data for rural smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The platform enables micro lending, mobile payments, insurance, savings and pensions access for previously unbanked farmers, while connecting them to agricultural value chain markets, input suppliers, and service providers. It also provides a digital identity layer for farmers, addressing the foundational cause of financial exclusion in rural agricultural communities.
Is AgroCenta a public or private company?
AgroCenta is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was AgroCenta founded?
AgroCenta was founded in 2015. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is AgroCenta based?
AgroCenta is headquartered in Port Louis, Mauritius, in the Africa region.
How does AgroCenta make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Financial Services Intermediation is the primary driver. The others are digital Marketplace & Value Chain Services.
Who are AgroCenta's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Tala, M-KOPA and Branch International. Direct peers are Apollo Agriculture, Twiga Foods and esoko. Emerging players are Cropital, Hello Tractor and iProcure. Briter Bridges is listed as an others.
Does AgroCenta have an API?
No public API is recorded for AgroCenta.
What industry is AgroCenta in?
AgroCenta's product category is Agricultural Fintech / Digital Financial Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAAAFAO, Farm Finance, Input Procurement & Risk Tools (Budgeting, Inventory, Insurance Links), with a secondary code of FSAKAGAG, Agricultural & Rural Microfinance. Its NAICS code is 1111 and its SIC code is 700.