FROM LEFT : Ambassador Afolabi Oke, African 6th Region Global 2/ Mrs Mariam Okondugba CFO A4s 3Prof. Dr. Pradit Withisuphakorn (Advisory board A4S)
Agricultural technology company A4S and investment and project-development firm Natari have reaffirmed plans to deepen their presence in Nigeria, positioning the country as a potential hub for their wider African operations and investment activities.
The companies made the disclosure at the Nigerian launch of their expanded agricultural technology–investment–finance partnership, which brings together A4S, Natari and Providus Bank, with strategic support from Afolabi Kehinde Oke, Ambassador of the African Union 6th Region and Managing Director of Global infoswift, as well as the economic and financial inclusion platform of PreCEFI/SheIncluded.
The partnership is built around a model linking agricultural technology, productive assets, finance, processing and markets, with A4S providing agricultural technology including its 4Tree product, Natari developing investment projects and productive assets, and Providus Bank providing banking and financial infrastructure.
A key question at the press conference held in Lagos on Monday August 24, 2026, focused on the actual financial commitment being made to Nigeria, given the companies’ declaration that Nigeria is an “anchor market, not a test market.”
Responding to the question, Olugbile Erinwusi, chief risk officer of Providus Bank, said the financial commitment to Nigeria could be in excess of $20 million, while noting that the opportunity has expanded significantly as the businesses have grown across Africa.
“In terms of the financial commitment, I can boldly say that it should be in excess of 20 million dollars. Predominantly, that was when they hadn’t even expanded to several other African countries. The potential is very huge, and that’s why even at the government level, they are very ready to see how they can provide a lot of support.”
Erinwusi also disclosed that Providus Bank is working on a technology platform intended to facilitate payments and collections associated with the business.
“We are currently working on building an app which will take care of all the payment systems and it’ll support all the collection of sales to create convenience for the people and create transparency. That creates end-to-end convenience for people.”
He added that Providus Bank’s existing cross-border banking relationship with Thailand was also helping to facilitate the international dimension of the partnership.
“As a bank, we have been able to do a lot of remittance to Thailand, which provides a lot of comfort in terms of cross-border relationship.”
Esini Orji Ibiam, Natari’s Regional Director, provided a more ambitious outlook for the investment pipeline, describing Nigeria as a catchment area for the group’s multi-country operations and potentially the hub for its African production activities.
“It is a multi-country based business, so in terms of financial cost of investment, Nigeria happens to be a catchment area for almost all that we are doing. Meaning the investment flow comes through Nigeria based on the good banking environment we found through Providus Bank.”
Ibiam said Natari’s investment plans were expected to increase substantially, citing $12 million in investment in the previous year and a target of more than $50 million this year.
“Last year, 12 million US dollars and this year, we would be looking at over 50 million dollars investment.”
He said the partnership with Providus Bank was also helping Natari better understand Nigeria’s financial ecosystem as it considers whether to establish the country as a continental production hub.
“We can actually have more understanding with the financial system in Nigeria in terms of whether we are going to make Nigeria the hub for Africa in terms of production or otherwise.”
From technology to investment
The wider partnership is intended to connect A4S’s agricultural technology with Natari’s investments in productive assets and agro-processing, while using Providus Bank’s financial infrastructure to facilitate transactions, working capital, trade and cross-border payments.
Natari is currently developing agricultural and industrial projects including a cashew-processing project in Kogi State, a hydroponic farming project in Ebonyi State, and the Best Green City concept in Enugu State.
A4S, meanwhile, is seeking to expand the deployment of 4Tree through demonstration farms, farmer training and crop-specific trials under Nigerian conditions. The companies say the technology will ultimately be assessed through measurable outcomes including productivity, input costs, crop quality and, most importantly, net farmer income.
The initiative also places women’s economic participation at the centre of its strategy through the SheIncluded platform, which seeks to connect women and other underserved Nigerians with technology, finance, entrepreneurship and productive opportunities.
Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion and Executive Secretary of PreCEFI, stressed that the ultimate test of the initiative would be measurable economic outcomes rather than announcements or participation figures.
The partnership’s stated ambition is to move agriculture along a value chain from technology to farm production, finance, processing, manufacturing, logistics, markets and exports, with the Nigerian farmer positioned at the centre.
For Nigeria, the immediate business significance is therefore not simply the launch of another agricultural product, but the potential mobilisation of tens of millions of dollars in investment, the development of local processing and production capacity, new financial infrastructure and the possibility of using Nigeria as a gateway for the companies’ wider African operations.
