Ethiopian agritech Lersha secures $1M convertible loan from IFC to expand farmer finance

What's the deal? LershaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Ethiopian digital agriculture platform, has secured a $1 million convertible loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group's private-sector arm. The deal follows a five-year partnership and three years of due diligence by IFC.

Context Lersha combines digital tools with a network of local agents to connect smallholder farmers to inputs, mechanisation, credit, insurance and market access. It has reached more than 300,000 farmers and is targeting one million by 2030. CEO Abreham Endrias says the money will expand the agent network, improve farmer productivity and lower borrowing costs. Lersha is also working with local banks to mobilise more than 4 billion birr in input financing this year.

Source Birr Metrics, 31 March 2026