Village Capital, a global nonprofit that backs high-impact startups, has deployed $450,000 from its Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility into two Nigerian startups, marking the investment vehicle's entry into the country after backing two Ghanaian companies earlier this year.

The recipients are Trade Lenda, a digital financial services platform for small and medium-sized businesses, and AirSmat, a climate-tech company that turns agricultural waste into biochar-based fertiliser. With these deals, the facility's total portfolio now stands at seven startups across Ghana and Nigeria.

Village Capital launched the $4 million facility in July 2025 with backing from the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). It targets early-stage companies working on economic mobility and climate resilience, using local ecosystem organisations to identify startups that traditional investors may overlook. The facility is part of a broader category of catalytic capital — often funded by development finance institutions — that accepts more flexible terms to reach businesses considered too early or too risky for conventional investors.

The Nigeria investments come as early-stage startups continue to face a difficult funding environment. In the first half of 2026, African startups raised just $9 million in early-stage funding, down from $25 million in the same period a year earlier. The facility's model is designed to address that gap by working with local ecosystem partners that can identify founders and structure capital around their needs.

"What stands out about these startups is how they're strengthening the systems that businesses and farmers rely on to grow," said Husein Merchant, Investment Officer at Village Capital.

Trade Lenda, which provides digital business loans, embedded finance and Sharia-compliant financing, has supported more than 260,000 SMEs and farmers across five of Nigeria's six geopolitical zones, according to the company. Women account for 66% of its customers. Its focus on SME credit addresses a longstanding challenge in Nigeria, where small businesses are frequently cited as credit-constrained and often lack the collateral or formal records that traditional banks require.

"The capital has enabled us to accelerate our growth, acquire a higher license, and attract more competitive funding," said Adeshina Adewumi, co-founder and CEO of Trade Lenda. He added that the investment helped the company secure an additional $2 million in local debt facilities at lower rates, allowing it to expand lending while reducing its cost of capital.

AirSmat is using its investment to complete and commission a commercial factory for its biochar-based fertiliser and expand production. Its technology converts agricultural waste into biochar, which can improve soil health while removing carbon and creating additional income opportunities for farmers through carbon markets. Biochar — a charcoal-like substance produced by heating organic material in low-oxygen conditions — has drawn growing interest as a carbon-removal approach, and reaching commercial-scale production is a key step for startups in the sector seeking to serve both agricultural and carbon-market buyers.

"Access to capital structured around the realities of building a climate-tech company has been transformative for AirSmat," said Soji Sanyaolu, the company's founder and CEO.

Africa Fintech Foundry, one of the facility's local ecosystem partners, helped source the two Nigerian investments. The organisation works with Village Capital to identify startups with potential and provide local market insight during the investment process.

The partnership reflects a different approach to deploying early-stage capital in African markets. Rather than relying solely on a central investment team to source deals, Village Capital works with local Entrepreneur Support Organisations (ESOs) that already have relationships with founders and understand the markets they operate in.

"Because we're deeply embedded in Nigeria's startup ecosystem, we're able to identify founders with strong potential long before they're on the radar of traditional investors," said Carolina Gideon-Krama, venture analyst at Africa Fintech Foundry.

The model was also used for the facility's first investments in Ghana. In May, Village Capital invested $200,000 in Rivia Clinics, a tech-enabled primary healthcare startup, and $150,000 in VDL Fulfilment, an e-commerce logistics platform. The facility has now invested in seven startups across Ghana and Nigeria, with additional investments planned in Nigeria and Tanzania — a trajectory that will test whether partner-led sourcing can keep surfacing investable companies as the facility continues deploying its $4 million corpus.