East Africa Foods (EAF), a Dar es Salaam company that buys produce from smallholder farmers and sells it to city retailers, raised $26m in a Series B equity round, Innovation Village reported on 7 October 2026.
The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) led the round through its investment arm InfraCo, with Oikocredit and the Dutch development bank FMO. Existing shareholders ARAF, Goodwell, Africa Eats and FINCA invested again.
The equity is part of a package of about $40m that also includes a debt facility from the Schmidt Family Foundation. Food Business MEA put the debt at $14m. No valuation was disclosed.
“A third of what our farmers grow never reaches anyone's table.”Elia Timotheo, Founder and CEO, East Africa Foods
What East Africa Foods does
EAF, led by founder and chief executive Elia Timotheo, sources fresh produce directly from more than 28,000 registered smallholder farmers. It collects, grades, stores and processes their harvests and then distributes the goods to more than 10,000 urban retailers. Its consumer brands include Onja and Golden Banana.
The company owns much of the physical chain itself, including sourcing networks, a transport fleet and cold storage, alongside its own technology. Innovation Village reported that EAF has spent the past three years building this layer of the supply chain.
"A third of what our farmers grow never reaches anyone's table," Timotheo said, according to Food Business MEA. He has argued that the losses come from missing infrastructure rather than poor farming.
What the money is for
EAF said the funding will pay for more cold storage, processing facilities and trucks, as well as its digital distribution systems. It plans to deepen its operations in Tanzania and expand into Kenya, using what Innovation Village described as a data-driven approach to entering the new market. The wider aims of the investment are to reduce food waste, give smallholder farmers better access to markets and strengthen food security in the region.
The company said its integrated supply chain has cut food losses by a third across its network. Food Business MEA reported that up to 40% of food produced in the region is lost before it reaches consumers, and that the expansion is expected to benefit up to 100,000 smallholder farmers, 45% of them women.
Who invested
The investors are mostly development finance and impact investors. Claire Jarratt, head of investment management at InfraCo, said EAF's offering fits PIDG's mandate to support inclusive, climate-resilient growth, and that its logistics can help supply food reliably to growing urban populations.
Samuel Kibiri, senior equity officer at Oikocredit, described EAF's integrated platform as important for sustainable food networks and for farmers' resilience. Peter Byrde, director for private equity at FMO, said a commercially viable agri-logistics model could attract more private capital to East African agriculture in the coming years.
How the package is structured
Because EAF owns warehouses, cold rooms and vehicles, its expansion needs physical assets as well as working capital. Food Business MEA reported that the Schmidt Family Foundation's debt facility is intended to back that asset-heavy model, while the equity round led by InfraCo supports the wider expansion in Tanzania and Kenya.