Agri-Ecosystem for Inclusive Growth Hub

Four entry points for SMEs and farmers: Aggregator, Incubator, Venture Builder, Accelerator. Each has specific offerings and entry criteria grounded in South African agribusiness realities.

Agri-Ecosystem for Inclusive Growth Hub Brand Identity

Mission: To cultivate a thriving agricultural landscape in South Africa by providing a comprehensive platform that fosters incubation, accelerates growth, aggregates resources, and builds sustainable ventures, driving inclusive economic development within rural and peri-urban communities aiming building pipeline for commercialisation.

Agri-Ecosystem for Inclusive Growth Hub logo - GAD South Africa

Branding

Logo Design & Interpretation

We will retain your existing, effective logo, as it beautifully communicates the core functions (incubation, acceleration, aggregation, venture building) around a central theme of growth (the tree) supported by human hands and foundational elements (the gear/roots).

Color Palette

Primary colors

AEIGH Green
#67ab49
Main branding: agriculture, growth, sustainability

AEIGH Blue
#1F4766
Technology, innovation, professionalism

AEIGH Orange
#E58A40
Aggregation, energy, community

AEIGH Brown
#6F4E37
Earth, stability, hands-on nature

Secondary colors

Light Green
#9CC96A
Incubation, fresh ideas

Light Blue
#599EBF
Secondary shade complementing AEIGH Blue

Cream / Off-White
#F9F9F9
Backgrounds and clean spaces

Agri-Impact Services: For Farmers

Aggregator

What it offers: Provides collective procurement of inputs like seeds and fertilizer to reduce costs. It also offers shared access to logistics, storage, and processing infrastructure, and links farmers to markets with retailers and wholesalers. Training on compliance and quality standards is also included.

Qualifying Criteria:

  • Operates as a smallholder cooperative, farmer association, or early-stage agribusiness collective
  • A minimum of 5-10 farmers or SMEs grouped together depending on number of cattle in production.
  • Evidence of basic production capacity (e.g., livestock or crops)
  • Willingness to adopt record-keeping and quality standards.

Benefits: Reduces operational costs, provides access to larger markets, and ensures compliance with industry standards.

Symbolism: Cooperation, efficiency, growth.

Incubator

What it offers: Focuses on foundational business skills, including bookkeeping, compliance, and governance. Offers technical agronomy or livestock training and provides access to mentorship and digital tools. Uses SerDev’s "Guides" and "Academy" for entrepreneurship curriculum and "Project Management" tools for organization.

Qualifying Criteria:

  • New or informal agribusinesses (0-2 years of operation) with proof of concept on a small scale.
  • Commitment to complete training modules and potential to formalize the business.

Benefits: Equips new farmers with the essential business skills to formalize their operations and develop a viable business model.

Symbolism: Nurturing, foundational, educational.

Venture Builder

What it offers: Provides hands-on support to co-create scalable business models and offers access to product development labs for food processing and agri-tech. Supports investment readiness by helping with financial modeling and pitch decks.

Qualifying Criteria:

  • Registered SMEs with more than 2 years of operation and generating revenue but not yet scaling.
  • Demonstrated market demand for products but facing bottlenecks (e.g., lack of cold storage or processing).

Benefits: Helps established businesses professionalize, remove growth bottlenecks, and become ready for pilot funding or investment.

Symbolism: Professional, collaborative, innovative.

Accelerator

What it offers: A 6-12 month scaling program with 6 weekly intense sessions that provides coaching on compliance, exports, and investment. Facilitates access to blended finance, DFIs, retailers, and export markets. Leverages SerDev's "Investors" and "Dealroom" features to connect with investors and manage pitches.

Qualifying Criteria:

  • Have minimum of 50 livestock and over 5 years in farming.
  • Growth-stage agribusinesses with a strong growth plan and a turnover of over R500k-R1m.
  • Already have market traction with aspiration to grow.

Benefits: Enables businesses to expand their production scale, secure large-scale contracts, and create jobs.

Symbolism: Fast-paced growth, success, impact.

Venturz Agri-Impact Services: For Impact Investors

This service is a specialized portal within the SerDev platform designed for corporate investors, CSI, ESD, and other impact-focused entities.

Agri-Impact Dealflow Portal

Features:

  • Vetted Dealflow: Access to a curated pipeline of agribusinesses (from the Venture Builder and Accelerator programs) that have been thoroughly vetted for both financial viability and social/environmental impact.
  • Impact Measurement & Reporting: A dashboard that provides transparent, real-time data on key impact metrics, such as jobs created, smallholder farmers supported, and environmental sustainability practices.
  • Direct Engagement: Ability to communicate directly with founders and teams to conduct due diligence. .
  • Integrated CRM: Use of SerDev’s CRM to manage relationships with portfolio companies.
  • Investment & Legal Tools: Access to a dealroom to prepare, manage, and share legal documents and pitches.

Criteria: Demonstrated intent for measurable social & environmental impact, long-term investment, focus on profitable and scalable businesses.

Benefits: Measurable impact, reduced risk, portfolio diversification, enhanced brand reputation.

Symbolism: Trust, transparency, purpose-driven investment.

Contact Us

Farmer Progression Path

Entry Point What it Offers Criteria
Aggregator Collective procurement, shared logistics, market linkage, compliance training. Cooperative/farmer group, min. 5 producers, basic production, record-keeping.
Incubator Business skills, technical support, mentorship, market testing. New/informal agribusiness (0–2 yrs), proof of concept, training commitment, potential to formalize.
Venture Builder Co-creation of scalable models, labs, value chain partnerships, investment readiness. Registered SMEs >2 yrs, demonstrated demand, revenue but scaling bottlenecks, openness to equity/joint ventures.
Accelerator 6–12 month growth program, coaching, access to investment, market expansion. Growth-stage agribusiness >R500k–R1m turnover, market traction, governance & compliance, clear expansion plan.