Cinagro

What Cinagro does

Cinagro is a Dubai-headquartered, privately held agribusiness founded around 2021 that sources, trades, and distributes soft commodities and agricultural machinery across sub-Saharan Africa to international buyers. Its product portfolio spans five categories: spices (ginger and turmeric meeting ASTA standards), nuts and seeds (cashews, sesame, shea), cocoa beans, dairy powders (skimmed milk, whey, instant fat-filled), and agricultural machinery (cultivators, tractors, harvesters, agro-processing equipment). The company operates regional headquarters in Dubai and Lagos, with additional offices in London and Accra, enabling direct farm-gate sourcing from smallholder networks and local buying agents across West Africa while serving global food processors and trading houses through an integrated supply chain covering aggregation, logistics, warehousing, and agro-processing.

The company's core technology is an agricultural commodity sourcing and trading platform with end-to-end supply chain management capabilities. Proprietary features include farm-to-market supply chain integration, a commodity traceability system for crops such as sesame that supports crop safety, farmer yields, and post-harvest efficiency, and quality certification alignment with bodies such as Bureau Veritas and SGS. Cinagro monetises primarily through trading margins on commodity transactions (transaction-fee revenue model) and hardware sales on agricultural machinery distribution. Its go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales to food processors, trading houses, and export houses with channel partnerships across logistics providers, certification bodies, and banking partners. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, negotiated on volume, specifications, and delivery terms.

Cinagro serves a diversified set of customer segments including leading food processors and manufacturers (e.g., Danone, Fanmilk, Niger Biscuits, Integrated Dairies, Biochemical Derivatives), international trading houses and export companies, smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, and farm operators purchasing machinery. The company is led by Executive Director Tracy Jiajia Yu, Director Catherine Yingjia Chen, and Sanjeev Jain, a former Managing Director of a publicly listed Nigerian FMCG company with 25 years of agribusiness experience in Nigeria. Cinagro is privately held with no disclosed external institutional investors, funding rounds, or parent company, and has 11-50 employees.

Name

Cinagro

Website

https://cinagrogroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cinagro is a Dubai-based agribusiness that sources and trades soft commodities (spices, nuts, seeds, cocoa, dairy) and distributes agricultural machinery across sub-Saharan Africa for international food processors, trading houses, and smallholder farming networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Commodity Distribution

NAICS

Other Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers (424590), Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42491), Grain and Field Bean Merchant Wholesalers (42451)

SIC

Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAIAKAL

Import/Export & Cross-Border Food Commodity Trading

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Distribution & Wholesale/Food Ingredients & Commodities Trading/Wholesale

SECONDARYCRAOABAK

Ingredients, Spices & Culinary Supplies Distribution

Consumer Products & Retail/Wholesale, Distribution & Category Management/Grocery, Fresh & Specialty Foodservice Distribution

SECONDARYAFAIAKAD

Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Trading/Wholesale

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Distribution & Wholesale/Food Ingredients & Commodities Trading/Wholesale

Keywords

• Agricultural commodity trading
• Soft commodities supply
• Food distribution services
• Agricultural machinery distribution
• Supply chain management

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Soft commodities trading: Trading of agricultural commodities including spices, nuts, seeds, cocoa beans, and dairy products sourced from sub-Saharan Africa for international distribution. Revenue generated through trading margins on commodity transactions.
2. Agricultural machinery distribution: Distribution of small and large agricultural machinery including tractors, cultivators, harvesters, water pumps, and agro-processing equipment across sub-Saharan Africa.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Cinagro sources soft commodities (spices, nuts and seeds, cocoa beans, and dairy products) from sub-Saharan Africa and distributes them to international food processors and trading houses. In parallel, the company distributes agricultural machinery including cultivators, tractors, harvesters, water pumps, and agro-processing equipment across the region, managing the full value chain from farm gate sourcing through logistics, warehousing, and delivery.

Product overview

Cinagro is a global agribusiness partner offering a portfolio of five core product categories: Spices (ginger and turmeric), Nuts and Seeds (cashews, sesame seeds, and shea nuts), Cocoa Beans, Dairy Products (milk powders), and Agricultural Machinery (farm equipment and agro-processing machines). The company operates across sub-Saharan Africa, sourcing commodities from local farmers and smallholder networks and distributing to international clients including food processors, trading houses, and manufacturers. The agricultural machinery division complements the commodity trading by providing equipment to support farming and processing capabilities in the region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Spices Traded spices including split dried ginger meeting ASTA standards and organic certified ginger, as well as split dried turmeric sourced from farmers and processed through standardised handling and drying procedures. Sold to international food processors, trading houses, and export companies.
• Nuts and Seeds Traded nuts and seeds including raw cashews from West Africa, white and black sesame seeds with traceability, and shea nuts sourced directly from farm gate in Nigeria. Supplied to international food processors, trading houses, and export companies.
• Cocoa Beans Global cocoa trading with value creation across the entire supply chain from trusted farmers to end users, with specifications including bean count max 100/100g, moisture max 8%, defect max 5%, and slate max 5%. Sold to international food processors, trading houses, and export companies.
• Dairy Products Imported milk powders including skimmed milk powder, whey milk powder, and instant fat-filled milk powder used in manufacture of yoghurt, coffee, tea, confectionaries, ice cream, and flavoured milk. Supplied to dairy producers and food processors such as Integrated Dairies Ltd, Biochemical Derivatives Ltd, Niger Biscuits Ltd, Danone, and Fanmilk.
• Agricultural Machinery Distribution of small and large agricultural machinery across sub-Saharan Africa including cultivators, tractors, trailers, harvesters, water pumps, disc ploughs, ridges, mini tillers, agro-processing equipment, and seed cleaning machines. Sold to farm operators across the region to support farming and processing capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Traceability ensures crop safety and creates value for farmers through better yields, price stability, farm improvements, and efficient post-harvest handling

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• GaniccoreOthersTrading partner specialising in agricultural commodities. Ganic is part of Cinagro's network of trading houses and importers that facilitate the movement of agricultural products.
• ETGcoreOthersExport Trading Group - a major agricultural trading house partner that handles commodities across Africa and globally.
• BGNcoreOthersTrading partner handling agricultural commodities in the network.
• SynthitecoreTechnology or IntegrationLeading manufacturer and supplier of spice extracts and essential oils that works with Cinagro for sourcing and supply chain services.
• CMA-CGMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal container shipping and logistics partner providing shipping services for transportation of agricultural commodities internationally.
• MaerskcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal shipping and logistics partner providing container logistics and supply chain solutions for agricultural commodity transportation.
• Bureau VeritascoreTechnology or IntegrationCertification and inspection body providing quality certification, testing, and inspection services for agricultural commodities.
• SGScoreTechnology or IntegrationInspection, verification, and testing company providing certification and quality assurance services for agricultural commodities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cargill: Cargill is one of the world's largest agri-commodity traders and food ingredient suppliers, with deep cocoa, grain, and animal feed operations across Africa. It is a broad incumbent competing with Cinagro in soft commodity trading and food manufacturing supply.
• Bunge Limited: Bunge is a global agribusiness and food ingredients company active in oilseeds, grains, and soft commodity trading. It competes in cross-border agricultural commodity flows relevant to Cinagro's operations, though at much greater scale and with integrated processing assets.
• Olam Group: Olam is a major global agri-commodity trader and processor with substantial cocoa, nuts, spices, and dairy operations in Africa. It competes with Cinagro in the international trading of African soft commodities, though on a vastly larger, more diversified scale.
• AGCO Corporation: AGCO is a global manufacturer and distributor of agricultural machinery including tractors, harvesters, and tillage equipment, with growing Africa operations. It is a broad incumbent competing with Cinagro in the distribution of farm machinery in sub-Saharan Africa.
• TAFE (Tractors and Farm Equipment): TAFE is one of the largest tractor and agricultural equipment manufacturers in the world, with a significant presence in African markets. It is a broad incumbent competing with Cinagro's agricultural machinery distribution business in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Louis Dreyfus Company: Louis Dreyfus is a global merchant and processor of agricultural commodities including cocoa, coffee, grains, and oilseeds, with significant African sourcing operations. It is a broad incumbent that competes in cross-border agricultural commodity flows.

Direct peers

• Synthite Industry: Synthite is a global manufacturer and supplier of spice extracts and essential oils that works directly with Cinagro. It is a direct peer in spice sourcing, processing, and international supply chain services for food manufacturers.
• Export Trading Group (ETG): ETG is a major agri-commodity trader with deep operations across sub-Saharan Africa in soft commodities, cocoa, nuts, spices and farm inputs. It is a direct competitor and partner to Cinagro, sharing the same farm-gate-to-international-market sourcing model.

Emerging players

• AFEX (Africa Exchange Holdings): AFEX is a pan-African commodity exchange and aggregator operating warehouses and trading platforms for grains and soft commodities in Nigeria and across Africa. It is an emerging player with overlapping sourcing and aggregation activities in markets where Cinagro operates.
• Sucafina: Sucafina is a leading sustainable coffee and cocoa trader with sourcing operations across Africa, including origins overlapping with Cinagro's cocoa and sesame footprint. It is an emerging player in traceable African-origin commodities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Cinagro