Two Nigerian Startups Receive Catalyst Funding for Economic Growth

Two promising Nigerian startups—Trade Lenda and AirSmat—have each secured $225,000 in funding from the Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility. This marks the facility’s first investments in Nigeria, bringing its total to seven after previously backing five companies in Ghana.

The Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility aims to support climate resilience and economic mobility by providing early-stage capital to startups across Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania. The initiative is managed by Village Capital with funding from FMO (Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank) and RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency).

Trade Lenda: Expanding Financial Access for SMEs

Trade Lenda provides digital financial services, including business loans, embedded finance solutions, and Sharia-compliant financing—all designed to expand access to capital for small and medium-sized enterprises. Since launching, the platform has served over 260,000 SMEs and farmers across five of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

“This investment allows us to accelerate our growth and attract more competitive funding,” said Adeshina Adewumi, co-founder and CEO of Trade Lenda. “We’ve already secured an additional $2 million in local debt facilities at lower rates, which we can pass on to the SMEs we serve.”

AirSmat: Transforming Waste into Sustainable Fertilizer

AirSmat is a climate technology company that converts agricultural waste into biochar-based fertilizer—a solution that removes carbon while improving soil health and increasing agricultural productivity.

“Access to capital structured for climate tech has been transformative,” said Soji Sanyaolu, founder and CEO of AirSmat. “We’ll use this investment to complete our commercial factory, expand market access, and accelerate the delivery of sustainable solutions that improve livelihoods.”

The facility’s approach emphasizes partnerships with local entrepreneur support organizations like Africa Fintech Foundry, which played a key role in identifying these high-potential startups.