Again, Agropartnerships misses timeline to pay investors

Agropartnerships, a subsidiary of Farmforte has missed the timeline it gave its investors to commence payment of due investment funds.

The company in a mail to investors said it is working with regulatory bodies to ensure all ongoing assessments proceed smoothly since its offices were sealed by the regulators.

It added that the company would work with a schedule which will be reflected on the investors’ dashboards after settling pending issues.

Back story

• A few days to the 2021 Yuletide celebration, investors of Agropartnerships cried out in fear that the agritech platform may not be able to fulfil payment for matured investments before the end of the year.
• Not having received returns on their investments as at when due, the investors threatened to involve lawyers and security personnel in the course of following up on matured investments unpaid by the platform.
• In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sealed three companies; Oxford International Group, Farmforte Agro-Allied Solutions Limited/Agropartnerships and Vektr Capital Investment, for alleged illegal investment activities.
• The regulator in a statement, accused them of carrying out capital market activities without a license, hence, shutting down their offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja for operations that fall within the ambit of fund management without registration.

What Agropartnerships is saying

• In a mail to investors, it stated, “We want to thank you for your support during this difficult time. We understand the inconveniences our delayed payments might have caused you and we do not take your patience for granted.
• “Since our last communication, we have been working diligently to ensure our obligations to you are met. As you may have read in the media, on March 14, 2022, our offices were sealed and a hold was placed on our bank accounts. We assure you that Agropartnerships operates with the highest ethical standards and are cooperating with various regulatory bodies to ensure all on-going assessments proceed smoothly. As an organization built on integrity, we appreciate and support the mandate of all regulators in Nigeria and are confident that all concerns will be critically examined and promptly resolved.
• “In the meantime, with an understanding of the urgency for payouts, we will continue to work intensely, doing all we can to ensure every pending issue is settled, after which, schedules would reflect on your dashboard and shortly after, payments will commence.”

What you should know

During a virtual stakeholder meeting on Friday, 18th of February 2022, which also featured the presentation of a consolidated payout plan, the company announced that payouts will resume in July 2022.

Speaking on the payout schedule, Co-CEO, Osayi Osazuwa commented “To this end, we have halted all payouts from February 18. While we plan to begin Interest payments in July 2022, all payments will be made in three batches, July 2022, Oct 2022, and Feb 2023”.