IFC Partners with Tolbi to Facilitate Agricultural Financing in Senegal

Farmers working in a field, with a drone or satellite—symbolizing AgTech—in the background.

AFRICAN STOCKS AND FINANCENovember 11, 2026 at 12:12 PM UTC

TLDR

IFC and Tolbi are partnering to support 2 million farmers in West Africa by 2030.
The partnership aims to improve access to financing and markets through AgTech and agronomic consulting.
The initiative uses AI and satellite imagery to optimize production and facilitate credit decisions.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a partnership with Tolbi, a Senegalese company specializing in agricultural technology (AgTech). This collaboration aims to facilitate access to financing and markets for smallholder farmers in West Africa. The initiative aims to reach 2 million farmers and cooperatives by 2030, thereby addressing a major challenge for the regional agricultural sector.

The partnership offers agronomic advisory services, financing solutions, and market access. The investment, made through the GAFSP BIFT program, supports the development of Tolbi’s precision agriculture services. The company uses satellite imagery, artificial intelligence (AI), and data from its field agents to monitor crops. These technologies predict yields and provide tailored recommendations, optimizing planting decisions and the use of inputs.

The goal is to reach 2 million farmers and cooperatives by 2030. Tolbi currently operates in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Congo, and Tanzania. The company collaborates with more than 37 partner cooperatives and over 19,000 farmers. This geographic reach and scale strengthen the initiative’s ability to have a significant impact on regional agricultural productivity.

This approach improves visibility into production levels and agricultural risks, facilitating decision-making for banks, insurers, and product buyers. The lack of reliable data is often a major obstacle to granting credit to smallholder farmers. The partnership boosts farm productivity and promotes farmers’ integration into more structured value chains. It connects producers to a range of essential services, including financing, inputs, technical assistance, and markets.

Beyond financing, IFC plans to provide technical support to strengthen Tolbi’s network of field agents and its relationships with agricultural cooperatives and financial institutions. This initiative is part of the World Bank Group’s agricultural development program in Senegal and aligns with AgriConnect’s priorities. These priorities aim to strengthen agricultural value chains, mobilize private capital, improve food security, and support job creation. The TOLBI OS platform offers services for crop monitoring, yield forecasting, traceability, EUDR compliance, and digital tools for carbon tracking.

Key Takeaways

The partnership between IFC and Tolbi represents a strategic step forward for West African agriculture, a sector facing persistent challenges in terms of access to financing and markets for smallholder farmers. IFC’s investment, supported by the GAFSP BIFT program, aims to strengthen Tolbi’s precision agriculture services, which are essential for improving productivity and integrating farms into structured value chains. The key innovation lies in the use of digital technologies such as satellite imagery and AI, combined with field data, to generate reliable information on crops and yields. This increased visibility is crucial, as a lack of data often hinders financial institutions from extending credit to smallholder farmers. By facilitating decisions by banks, insurers, and buyers, Tolbi fills a critical gap. The initiative aligns with the broader objectives of the World Bank Group and AgriConnect, which seek to strengthen agricultural value chains, mobilize private capital, improve food security, and create jobs. Tolbi’s regional reach—with a presence in five African countries and already collaborating with thousands of farmers—demonstrates its potential to scale these solutions. The TOLBI OS platform, with its traceability and EUDR compliance features, also positions the company as a key player in meeting international environmental requirements, adding a sustainability dimension to its business model.

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