Agricultural Finance Corporation

What Agricultural Finance Corporation does

Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) is a Development Finance Institution wholly owned by the Government of Kenya, established in 1969 by merger of the Land and Agricultural Bank (founded 1933) with the Agricultural Finance Corporation under the Agricultural Finance Corporation Act (Cap 323). AFC is mandated to provide credit exclusively for agricultural development, supplying on average 26% of total credit to Kenya's agricultural sector since independence, and it operates a hybrid physical-digital distribution network of 48 branches across 6 regions covering all 47 counties, plus the Vuna mobile app and the E-citizen government portal.

AFC's core products include Agribusiness Loans (10% per annum on a reducing balance, up to 3-year tenor with 20% equity contribution), Seasonal Crop Credit (up to 12 months, minimum 5 acres for maize and wheat), Livestock & Fisheries Development Loans (2-5 year tenor), the Women Affirmative Access Window (WAAW) credit-plus facility, Warehouse Receipt Financing (validated with the AGRI3 Fund), and a wholesale lending channel through SACCOs and MFIs targeting up to 800,000 smallholder farmers under the PROFIT anchor-client model with IFAD, AGRA and the Government of Kenya. Pricing is anchored at 10% standard interest with a subsidized 5% rate for sugarcane partnership lending, and revenue is derived almost entirely from interest on agricultural credit.

The GTM is a wholesale-heavy model upscaling toward 65% wholesale and 35% retail, leveraging anchor clients (e.g., Equatorial Nut Processors reaching 4,223 smallholders), development grants (AGRA USD 100,000 for input supply blended financing; FSD Kenya for strategic planning), and strategic partnerships with the EU, World Bank, AGRI3 Fund, Global Communities, KOEE, and Kenya Development Corporation. The 2023-2027 Strategic Plan (launched June 20, 2024) emphasizes financial inclusion, climate-resilient agriculture, the SSCI certification (first in Kenya), and ISO 9001 UKAS quality credentials. Leadership is headed by Managing Director George Kubai, with a management team drawn from NOCK, Equity Bank, Sanlam Kenya, Coca-Cola, and government ministries.

Name

Agricultural Finance Corporation

Legal name

Agricultural Finance Corporation

Website

https://agrifinance.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) is a Kenyan government-owned Development Finance Institution, founded in 1963, that provides agricultural credit and technical assistance to smallholder farmers, women, youth, cooperatives, and agribusinesses across Kenya's 47 counties via 48 branches and digital channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Development Finance

NAICS

Commercial Banking (52211)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPADACAC

National Development Banks & State Development Finance Institutions (DFIs)

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Financial Institutions & Development Banks

SECONDARYFSABAKAE

Agricultural & Rural Development Banks

Financial & Insurance/Banking (Commerical, Retail & Consumer)/Development & Public Sector Banking (DFIs, Postal/Savings Banks)

Keywords

• Agricultural lending
• Development finance
• Smallholder credit
• Agribusiness loans
• Warehouse receipt financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Agricultural Credit Interest Income: AFC generates revenue primarily through interest on agricultural loans provided to farmers, cooperatives, private companies, and public bodies engaged in agriculture. Interest rates are 10% per annum on reducing balance for standard products, with special rates of 5% for sugarcane under partnership programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) is a government-owned Development Finance Institution that provides credit (loans) and technical/advisory assistance to smallholder farmers, cooperatives, agri-enterprises, and public bodies engaged in agriculture in Kenya. Its product suite spans seasonal crop credit, agribusiness loans, livestock and fisheries loans, sugarcane partnership loans, wholesale lending to financial intermediaries, warehouse receipt financing, and the WAAW women-agripreneur facility, distributed via 48 branches, the Vuna mobile app, and the E-citizen web portal.

Product overview

Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) operates as a development finance institution providing a comprehensive suite of agricultural financing products and services. The core offerings include the Vuna App mobile platform for digital access, Agribusiness Loans, Livestock & Fisheries Development Loans, Seasonal Crop Credit, and the Women Affirmative Access Window (WAAW) initiative targeting women agripreneurs. AFC also provides wholesale lending to financial intermediaries and warehouse receipt financing products. The institution offers multiple access channels including 48 branches nationwide, mobile (Vuna App), and web platforms via E-citizen and the Customer Feedback Portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vuna App: Mobile application for account access, loan applications, withdrawals and payments
• Women Affirmative Access Window (WAAW)
• Agri3 Fund

Products and services

• Agribusiness Loans Credit facility for individuals and groups engaged in agribusiness, with a repayment period of up to 3 years at 10% per annum on a reducing balance, requiring a 20% equity contribution and tangible security.
• Livestock & Fisheries Development Loans Term financing for livestock and fisheries development projects, with a repayment period of 2–5 years at annual installments, subject to suitability of the project and the applicant's experience in the enterprise.
• Seasonal Crop Credit Short-term production financing for individuals and groups cultivating maize, wheat, potatoes, rice and other food crops, with a maturity of not more than 12 months, requiring tangible security and a minimum of 5 acres for maize and wheat.
• Sugarcane Loans Subsidised credit facility for sugarcane production under partnership programmes with stakeholders in the sugarcane value chain, priced at 5% per annum on a reducing balance.
• Women Affirmative Access Window (WAAW) Credit-plus facility for women agripreneurs operating across the agricultural value chain (production, mechanisation, post-harvest management, value addition and market access), built around alternative collateral acceptance to overcome gender-related financial exclusion.
• Wholesale Lending Institutional wholesale credit product extended to SACCOs, MFIs, cooperatives and other financial intermediaries that on-lend to smallholder farmers and agribusinesses, forming part of AFC's planned 65% wholesale / 35% retail lending mix.
• Warehouse Receipt Financing Agricultural financing mechanism that enables farmers to deposit produce in certified warehouses and use the resulting warehouse receipts as collateral for loans, allowing them to access credit without selling harvests at unfavourable prices.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5B+ Financial Inclusion achieved
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with AGRA to enhance increased access to finance by Agri-SMEs, SACCOs and MFIs that on-lend to or service smallholder farmers. AGRA awarded AFC a project support grant of USD 100,000 from March 2022 to March 2023 for Supporting Input Supply Value Chain through Blended Financing.
• Global CommunitiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment organization partnering with AFC on agricultural finance initiatives.
• KOEE (Kenya Organic Output and Export Programme)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on organic agriculture output and export development.
• TNTminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment partner for agricultural initiatives.
• Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment ministry providing policy guidance and partnership for agricultural finance programs. Ministry has highlighted AFC's significant role providing 26% of total credit to the sector since independence.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Co-operative Bank of Kenya: Kenyan commercial bank with deep penetration in cooperative-based agriculture and rural Kenya. Comparable customer overlap (cooperatives, smallholders, agri-SMEs) but operates as a commercial rather than development lender.
• Equity Bank Kenya: Kenyan commercial bank with a strong financial-inclusion and smallholder-agriculture franchise, including the Equity Group Foundation. Comparable target customer base and rural reach but operates commercially rather than as a DFI.
• National Bank of Kenya: Domestic Kenyan commercial bank with government shareholding and a meaningful agricultural and SME lending portfolio. Comparable as a domestic Kenyan lender serving the same SME and rural segments.

Others

• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD): Multilateral development financier and a Tier-1 AFC partner funding the PROFIT program. Not a competitor but a primary capital and capability partner, providing a comparable institutional lens on smallholder agricultural finance in Africa.

Broad incumbents

• FMO - Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank: European DFI with significant agri-finance and emerging-markets exposure, including African agricultural value chains. Comparable in DFI mandate and concessional lending model, but with a global portfolio rather than a single-country focus.

Direct peers

• Land and Agricultural Bank of South Africa (Land Bank): South African state-owned development finance institution focused exclusively on agricultural lending. Comparable in scale, DFI mandate and product portfolio even though its market is more commercial-farm dominated.
• Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB): State-owned development finance institution in Tanzania mandated to deliver credit and capacity building across the agricultural value chain. Closest regional analogue to AFC in mandate, institutional structure and smallholder focus.
• Kenya Development Corporation (KDC): Kenyan state-owned development finance corporation investing across multiple sectors including agriculture. Listed as a Tier-1 AFC partner and the most direct domestic peer in institutional type.
• Agricultural Development Bank of Ghana (ADB): Ghanaian state-owned bank with a long-standing mandate to finance agriculture and agribusiness. Highly comparable in being a government-backed agricultural lender serving smallholders and commercial operators.
• Bank of Agriculture (Nigeria): Nigerian government-owned agricultural finance institution providing credit, inputs and advisory to smallholder farmers. Comparable in mandate, target segment and DFI-style operating model across a larger market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/agri_financeke
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@AgriculturalFinance/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/AgriculturalFinanceCorporation
• LinkedInke.linkedin.com/company/agricultural-finance-corpo
• Instagraminstagram.com/agri_financeke

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 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 Agricultural Finance Corporation