Overview
The Regenerative Capital Fund (ReCa) is a USD 400 million open-ended blended equity investment vehicle designed to scale regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions across Sub-Saharan Africa. Managed by Signature Agri Investments (SAI), a seasoned African fund manager affiliated with Old Mutual, the fund aims to blend 20% concessional capital, 50% African institutional capital, and 30% global institutional capital to attract large-scale investors into a traditionally undercapitalized and high-risk sector. SAI brings a strong track record to the vehicle, having successfully deployed over USD 100 million in African agribusiness. ReCa builds on this foundation to mobilize institutional investment at scale for climate-resilient agrifood systems.
Problem
Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is both climate-vulnerable and economically strategic, employing over 60% of the workforce in countries such as Malawi and Zambia. Yet it remains critically undercapitalized due to fragmented value chains, declining soil fertility, limited irrigation, and widespread food insecurity, all of which are compounded by climate shocks. Women, who make up the majority of the labor force, face entrenched barriers to land, finance, and value chains. Despite the agrifood market’s projected growth from USD 280 billion in 2023 to USD 1 trillion by 2030, the sector attracts just 4.7% of total investment and less than 4% of global climate finance, leaving a USD 200 billion annual financing gap. Donor programs and generalist PE funds have failed to scale due to short horizons, weak exits, and limited climate accountability.
Solution
ReCa will introduce a locally anchored blended finance model that aligns financial, environmental, and social returns while de-risking capital for investors. The fund will invest across commercial farms, agri-infrastructure (e.g., irrigation, cold storage, processing), smallholder networks, and climate-aligned technologies. It will prioritise adaptation-first investments with mitigation and biodiversity co-benefits such as soil restoration, carbon sequestration, and water efficiency. A compartmentalized sleeve model will allow investors to tailor exposure by geography or capital type (e.g., Zambia-only or pan-African portfolios).
ReCa will deploy equity and quasi-equity instruments with long-term horizons, enabling projects to mature and generate both real asset and environmental market revenues. Impact will be tracked through IRIS+, TNFD, and Verra-aligned KPIs, supported by independent MRV. The fund aims to link commercial agriculture with smallholder inclusion by targeting 33,000 hectares for regenerative practices and sequestering over 1 million tonnes of CO₂, while creating more than 5,000 jobs.
CC Facility Support
The CC Facility will provide technical assistance to refine the vehicle's structure, along with financial modeling, support the development of a comprehensive Impact Measurement and Monitoring (IMM) framework, and enable the integration of a gender lens across the fund’s operations. Additionally, the CC Facility will support the ReCa fund in the design of their TA Facility.
Website
https://www.signature-agri.nl/