Credit Where It’s Due: How Agroforte Is Digitizing Finance for Brazil’s Animal Protein Farmers
#2 BAR Stars
Welcome to BAR Stars, a new series dedicated to showcasing high-potential startups in Brazil’s booming AgriTech scene. In this inaugural edition, I spotlight Agroforte, a São Paulo-based AgriFintech unlocking one of the country’s most compelling — and long underserved — market opportunities.
Seizing the Opportunity: Fintech Meets Animal Protein
Brazil is a global powerhouse in animal protein exports, yet small and mid-sized farmers in this space remain largely excluded from traditional financial systems. Meanwhile, fintech has already proven its appeal to investors across Latin America, producing unicorns like Nubank, Creditas, and EBANX. Given agriculture’s central role in Brazil’s economy, the rise of an AgriFintech unicorn feels less like a question of if, and more like when.
While there are several agrifintechs focused on the massive grains market, Agroforte was the first to tackle the “blue ocean” of animal protein. Through its proprietary, data-driven credit model, the startup is digitizing credit access and infrastructure financing for poultry, dairy, pork, and beef producers — cutting red tape and approving loans in as little as 24 hours. Following its acquisition of RumiCash — a dairy-focused fintech with 15,000 farmers — Agroforte`s portfolio now includes approximately 50,000 producers, positioning itself as the dominant player in this critical, underserved sector.
What They’ve Built: A Fintech Engine for Rural Growth
Agroforte isn’t just offering loans — it’s building a more intelligent, efficient financial infrastructure for livestock producers.
At the core is a proprietary credit risk model informed by years of production data and real-time inputs from partner cooperatives, integrators, and agro-industries. These partnerships not only provide a go-to-market advantage, but also facilitate data integration that enables pre-approved credit — a process that traditional banks struggle to match due to legacy systems and collateral requirements.
Farmers repay loans via “consignado” — direct deductions from production revenue, often backed by a buyer or coop guarantee. This reduces default risk and encourages long-term loyalty between producers and Agroforte’s partners.
The results speak for themselves: Agroforte’s default rate is just 1%, far below the industry average of 5–10%.
Its model spans short- and long-term credit. Around 40% of AUM goes to working capital — including feed, vet supplies, and thin cattle for finishing — while 60% supports infrastructure like poultry sheds, irrigation, biodigesters, and solar systems.
As of Q1 2025, Agroforte manages R$100 million (US$20M) in AUM, with targets of R$250M (US$50M) by year-end, R$1.5B (US$300M) by 2028, and R$5B (US$1B) by 2030.
Momentum is building. Agroforte now manages Brazil’s first state-backed Fiagro fund in Paraná — a R$1B (US$200M) initiative to finance livestock infrastructure — and has partnered with JBS, the world’s largest meat company, to support beef suppliers. With over 750 credit operations in 2024 and that number already matched in Q1 2025, Agroforte expects to surpass 4,000 operations this year.
Driving Impact: ESG at the Core of Agroforte’s Model
Agroforte’s growth strategy is deeply aligned with its ESG commitments — positioning sustainability not as a separate pillar, but as a built-in engine for agricultural transformation.
Environmental & Animal Welfare
On the environmental and animal welfare front, Agroforte directs financing toward upgrades that have a measurable impact.
In poultry operations, farmers are installing modern ventilation systems and water-saving infrastructure.
In beef and dairy, investments in genetics and nutrition are reducing methane emissions per kilo of protein — a critical metric for processors focused on Scope 3 targets.
Meanwhile, the financing of renewable energy solutions, including biogas and solar, is helping producers transition to more sustainable, low-emission farm operations.
Social Inclusion & Productivity Gains
Agroforte’s embedded finance model has become a key channel for financial inclusion, serving small and mid-sized producers typically excluded from formal credit. Most loans are approved within 24 hours and tied directly to production cash flow.
This isn’t just about access — it’s about impact.
An independent 2024 case study with 255 poultry producers linked to AveNorte found that within 6–12 months of receiving Agroforte financing, farmers significantly outperformed a control group on multiple metrics:
+13.9% increase in revenue
+10% rise in payment per bird
-10% drop in mortality rates
+5.6% improvement in production factor (feed efficiency × viability)
These improvements reversed historical performance gaps. Before receiving credit, Agroforte clients had lower productivity than their peers. After financing, they closed that gap — and in some cases, exceeded average benchmarks.
Institutional Commitment
Institutionally, Agroforte’s ESG strategy is backed by a formal plan developed with external experts. This includes an approved sustainability policy, internal training manuals, and a comprehensive ESG toolkit. A structured monitoring system tracks performance through quarterly reports, while clearly defined KPIs guide decision-making and continuous improvement.
By embedding ESG directly into its risk model, operational strategy, and product design, Agroforte is future-proofing Brazil’s livestock sector — making it more productive, more inclusive, and more sustainable.
Founder’s Vision: Reimagining Finance for the Farmgate
At the core of Agroforte’s strategy is a founding team that blends deep financial expertise with a pragmatic, entrepreneurial view of agriculture’s realities. Together, they’re not just solving for today’s inefficiencies — they’re building the financial rails for tomorrow’s rural economy.
Felipe D’Avila (CEO) brings global entrepreneurial energy to the team, having led Juiceology in the U.S. and worked across Latin America in strategic consulting. He also has deep industry roots — his family helped found Sadia, now Brasil Foods (BRF).
Gustavo Andrade (CTO) has over 18 years of experience designing financial products and risk models across Brazil’s banking and fintech sectors, giving Agroforte a strong technical edge in credit modeling and solution architecture.
Carlos Mascarenhas (CFO) has spent three decades in agribusiness credit and guarantees, with stints at Unibanco, Safra, and Itaú BBA. His institutional knowledge is key as Agroforte expands into structured finance and prepares to eventually become a financial institution.
Marcio Cardoso (COO) brings decades of experience managing financial operations and scaling high-performing teams across institutions like Citi and Voiter. His deep operational know-how is critical to ensuring Agroforte can scale its ambitious credit and infrastructure programs efficiently.
Gustavo Peloso (CGO) previously led Santander’s agri credit initiatives and has held leadership roles at Santander and Letsbank. His expertise in rural finance strategy and market expansion plays a central role in Agroforte’s push to grow distribution through new channels and partnerships.
Agroforte’s founders are executing on a bold, multi-pronged vision. Their long-term strategy includes transforming Agroforte into a regulated Financial Institution to reduce the cost of capital and unlock more efficient, affordable credit for farmers.
They plan to invest heavily in technology and artificial intelligence to optimize underwriting, reduce customer acquisition and servicing costs, and develop increasingly personalized credit offerings.
At the same time, they aim to scale up customer acquisition through new commercial partnerships and distribution channels, allowing them to take share from an outdated and inefficient rural banking system. The goal is to create a more frictionless, data-driven, and inclusive financial ecosystem that truly meets the needs of rural Brazil.
Agroforte isn’t just digitizing rural finance. It’s rebuilding it — smarter, faster, and from the ground up.
Thanks for reading and feel free to leave your comments below!
KFG
Agroforte is a Yield Lab Latam portfolio company. Please reach out if you're interested in connecting with the company or learning how to invest in high-potential agrifood and climate tech startups in Latin America.
Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.
Really insightful piece, Kieran!
Your storytelling around Agroforte’s journey and financing efforts is powerful.
I handle the operation of a podcast called Agrictech Founder’s Diary, where we spotlight impactful voices like yours.
I’d be honored to invite you as a guest sometime—your perspective would be incredibly valuable to our listeners.
Looking forward to connecting!