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Pearl Capital Partners, fund manager of the Yield Fund Uganda, has announced its exit from Clarke Farm, an agribusiness company active in the country’s specialty coffee sector.
Pearl Capital initially invested in Clarke Farm in 2019, and made a strategic follow-on investment in 2022. Through a combination of tailored financing and hands-on business development support, Pearl Capital empowered Clarke Farm to execute a series of strategic initiatives that enhanced productivity, climate resilience, and market competitiveness. These include:
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Expanding a 600-hectare nucleus coffee estate to establish a scalable model for high-quality Robusta production;
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Installing a wet mill with a capacity of 7 tonnes per hour, allowing the farm to process its own coffee as well as that of its out-grower network, while improving quality to specialty-grade standards;
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Bringing 2,003 Arabica smallholder farmers into a structured network supported by village agents and agronomy consultants; and
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Producing and distributing high-yielding, disease-resistant Robusta seedlings to help smallholders improve productivity and farm sustainability.
Ian Clarke, director of Clarke Farm, remarked: “Yield Fund’s partnership has been instrumental in unlocking our potential. Their patient capital and strategic support enabled us to scale sustainably while uplifting smallholder farmers and setting new standards in Uganda’s coffee sector.”
Wanjohi Ndagu, co-managing partner of Pearl Capital Partners, added: “Our exit from Clarke Farm exemplifies PCP’s core philosophy: combining long-term capital with visionary entrepreneurship to deliver shared value for investors and communities. This success reinforces our belief in African agribusiness as a catalyst for inclusive growth.”
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