“I didn’t know why they hired me until maybe ten years later, when my manager said, ‘I hired people for what they can learn, not for what they know.’ I always believe that if I can do something, anyone can do it because there’s nothing special about it, and at the end of the day, even rocket science, I could figure it out. ”
— Tamer El-Raghy
In climate finance, credibility is often framed around mitigation technologies and large-scale infrastructure.
This episode challenges that assumption by asking a harder question: what if one of the most investable climate opportunities lies in helping smallholder farmers adapt?
My guest this week is Tamer El-Raghy, Managing Director of the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund. With a background that spans materials science, corporate strategy, and agricultural investment, Tamer now leads one of the first funds dedicated to building climate resilience across smallholder farming systems in Africa.
Tamer explains why agriculture remains one of the most undercapitalised sectors in climate finance, and how blended finance structures can unlock commercial investment by mitigating early-stage risk in frontier markets.
We also discuss:
– How platform businesses solve multiple farmer constraints at once
– Why first-loss capital helps mobilise mainstream investors into adaptation strategies
– How independent impact measurement strengthens credibility with institutional LPs
This conversation reframes climate adaptation not as a public-sector burden, but as a growing private investment opportunity capable of delivering both measurable impact and market-rate financial returns.
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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
SHOW NOTES:
[29:08] Platform Businesses That Strengthen Farmer Resilience
[35:49] Why First-Loss Capital Unlocks Climate Adaptation Investment
[38:54] The “Mud Hut to Brick House” Impact Metric
[43:44] Rethinking Founder Evaluation in Agricultural Ventures
[55:34] Independent Impact Measurement Builds Investor Trust
[01:11:02] Reframing Climate Adaptation as an Investment Opportunity
Additional Resources:
MORE QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEWS:
“A farmer in Uganda told me that over the past two years working with this company, his income increased, and he built a brick house instead of living in a mud hut. For him, that was a milestone; he leapfrogged from the prehistorical era to the modern era, and once the wheel starts turning, hopefully it never stops. ”
— Tamer El-Raghy
“Our investment thesis is to invest growth equity in fast-growing agribusinesses in East and West Africa with business models that help smaller farmers adapt and become more resilient to climate change. Farmers in Africa are among the most impacted by climate change, even though Africa’s contribution to greenhouse gases is less than 5% globally. ”
— Tamer El-Raghy
