Pearl Capital Partners

What Pearl Capital Partners does

Pearl Capital Partners (PCP) is an independent agriculture investment management firm founded in 2006 and headquartered in Kampala, Uganda, with a regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. PCP specializes in deploying growth capital, credit facilities, and business development support to small and medium-sized East African agribusinesses, with a vertical focus on agricultural sub-sectors such as dairy, horticulture, coffee, seed, animal feed, soy processing, meat processing, and vanilla exports. The firm's primary customers are its portfolio of investee SMEs and smallholder-farmer networks reached through SACCOs and cooperatives; its institutional LPs include the European Union through IFAD, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) of Uganda, AGRA, the Open Society Foundation, FCA Investments, the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) Embassy, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, JP Morgan Chase Social Finance, and USAID.

PCP has managed five distinct vehicles over its lifetime: the legacy African Agricultural Capital (AAC, US$9M, 2006-2018), African Seed Investment Fund (ASIF, US$12M, 2010-2021), African Agricultural Capital Fund (AACF, US$25M plus US$1.5M USAID technical assistance, 2011-2018), the currently active Yield Uganda Investment Fund (€20M, 2017-2027), and the Dairy-Horticulture Credit Limited facility (€6M, established November 2022). The firm earns revenue through two primary streams: ongoing fund management fees on committed AUM and transaction-linked returns such as carried interest from successful portfolio exits (Enimiro exit in June 2024, Clarke Farm exit in July 2025).

PCP's go-to-market is direct, enterprise-grade field sales: the firm identifies eligible SACCOs, SMEs, and cooperatives through on-the-ground origination, conducts evaluation and structuring, and pairs capital with technical assistance delivered through partner organizations including SNV and TechnoServe. The Business Development Support facility, funded by the EU and implemented by IFAD, provides grant-funded management support to investee enterprises. PCP employs 11-50 staff across two offices, with no disclosed AI, software-as-a-service product, or consumer-facing technology offering.

Name

Pearl Capital Partners

Legal name

Pearl Capital Partners

Website

https://pearlcapital.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pearl Capital Partners is an independent East African agriculture investment management firm that deploys equity and credit capital into small and medium-sized agribusinesses and smallholder farmer networks across Uganda and the region, serving institutional development-finance LPs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agriculture Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Finance Services (6199), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity, Conservation & Natural Capital Funds (FSANAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Middle-Market Lending (FSANADAI)

Keywords

• Agriculture investment management
• Impact investment funds
• SME agribusiness financing
• Smallholder farmer financing
• Agribusiness private equity

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: PCP earns fees for managing investment funds including the Yield Uganda Investment Fund and the Dairy-Horticulture Credit Facility (DHCL), providing fund management services to institutional investors and development finance institutions.
2. Investment Returns and Carried Interest: The firm generates returns through successful exits from portfolio companies such as Enimiro and Clarke Farm, realizing carried interest from investments in agribusinesses across East Africa.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pearl Capital Partners is an independent agriculture investment management firm that deploys and manages impact investment funds providing growth capital, credit facilities, and technical assistance to small and medium-sized agribusinesses across East Africa. The firm manages multiple funds, including the Yield Uganda Investment Fund (€20 million) and the Dairy-Horticulture Credit Facility (€6 million), investing in equity, quasi-equity, and credit structures for agribusiness SMEs.

Product overview

Pearl Capital Partners operates as a specialist agriculture investment management firm offering a portfolio of impact-focused investment funds and support services for SME agribusinesses in East Africa. The core product suite includes the Yield Uganda Investment Fund (the current active fund), the Dairy And Horticulture Limited credit facility, and legacy funds (AACF, ASIF, AAC). Supporting these funds is the Business Development Support Facility. Together, these products provide growth capital, credit facilities, and technical assistance to smallholder farmers and agribusinesses across Uganda and East Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Yield Uganda Investment Fund: An agribusiness impact fund established in January 2017 for SME agribusiness development in Uganda, with €20 million in total commitments.
• Dairy and Horticulture Credit Limited (DHCL)
• African Agricultural Capital Fund (AACF)
• African Seed Investment Fund (ASIF)

Products and services

• Yield Uganda Investment Fund (Yield Fund) An agribusiness impact fund providing growth capital (equity and quasi-equity) to SME agribusinesses in Uganda. Managed by PCP on behalf of institutional investors including the EU, IFAD, NSSF, Open Society Foundation, and FCA Investments.
• Dairy and Horticulture Credit Limited (DHCL) A credit fund providing medium-term loans to SACCOs and Cooperatives in Uganda for on-lending to smallholder farmer members in the Dairy and Horticulture sub-sectors. Includes collaboration with SNV and TechnoServe for technical assistance and Business Development Support.
• African Agricultural Capital Fund (AACF) A legacy fund (2011-2018) investing in high-growth businesses in agricultural value chains in East Africa, with US$25 million invested across 8 businesses in Uganda, Kenya, and Malawi.
• African Seed Investment Fund (ASIF) A legacy fund (2010-2021) providing affordable risk capital to seed companies serving smallholder farmers, investing US$12 million in 13 businesses across 8 East and Southern African countries.
• African Agricultural Capital (AAC) A legacy investment company (2006-2018) that fully invested US$9 million in 16 high-growth SME agribusinesses impacting smallholder farmers across East Africa.
• Business Development Support (BDS) Facility

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful exit from Enimiro with decent returns in financial terms and impact
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SNVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical assistance partner for DHCL, providing M&E support, backstopping, and monitoring SACCO and farmer use of the facility.
• TechnoServecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical assistance partner for DHCL providing BDS support, M&E support, and continuous capacity building for institutions accessing credit.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AgDevCo: UK-based specialist impact investor in African agribusiness SMEs with similar investment thesis, geography (East Africa), and target SME segment. AgDevCo manages significantly larger AUM but operates the same agricultural SME investment model that PCP has built with its Yield Fund and DHCL.
• Phatisa: Pan-African private equity fund manager with a dedicated African Agriculture Fund investing across the food and agribusiness value chain. Directly comparable to PCP in fund structure, sub-Saharan focus, and SME-level ticket sizes, though Phatisa targets larger deals and broader sectors.
• Injaro Investments: West-Africa focused impact investment manager deploying capital into agricultural SMEs and smallholder-linked businesses. Operates a directly analogous impact-PE model to PCP, though concentrated in francophone West Africa rather than East Africa.
• Vital Capital Fund: Impact private equity fund focused on essential services and infrastructure across sub-Saharan Africa including agribusiness value chains. Similar ticket sizes, target SME profile, and impact mandate to PCP, with comparable DFI/foundation LP base.
• Novastar Ventures: East Africa-based impact venture investor backing SMEs serving low-income consumers, with agriculture-adjacent portfolio companies. Operates a closely analogous investment model in the same geographic footprint as PCP, though with a slightly earlier-stage and broader thesis.
• Root Capital: US-based impact lender and equity investor focused on agricultural SMEs and cooperatives in Africa and Latin America. Highly comparable to PCP's blended equity-plus-credit model, with overlapping DFI and foundation investor base and similar smallholder-linked thesis.
• GroFin: Pan-African SME development financier providing growth capital and technical assistance to small businesses including agribusiness. Direct peer to PCP's DHCL credit-facility approach and similar SME + impact mandate across multiple African geographies.
• Equator Kenya (Equator Capital Partners): Africa-focused impact private equity firm with East African deal flow and exposure to agribusiness and SME finance. Closely analogous fund structure, target geography, and impact thesis to PCP's Yield Fund and AACF.

Broad incumbents

• Acumen: Global impact investment fund with African operations deploying patient capital into companies serving low-income populations including agricultural value chains. Larger, broader-thesis peer to PCP with comparable impact mandate and foundation LP base.
• British International Investment (BII, formerly CDC): UK development finance institution that directly and via fund-of-funds invests across African agribusiness and SME finance. Acts as an LP into peers like AgDevCo and indirectly anchors the same DFI LP ecosystem that funds PCP.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/seedcapitalist
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCUXehC16h718f4kBwRTybAQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/PearlCapitalPartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5534234/admin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments37 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pearl Capital Partners