Digital Agriculture in LMICs - 22 Aug #25
Round up of summer investments: Kenya’s FarmWorks, Ghana’s Oyster Agribusiness, Indonesia’s Beleaf and PasarMIKRO raise funding
27/07/23
Kenya’s FarmWorks bags $4.1 million in ARAF-led round
Kenyan agritech start-up FarmWorks has raised USD 4.1 million is a pre-series A led by its existing investor Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) with the participation of Livelihood Impact Fund, Vested World, angel investors and family offices. According to reports, the start-up will use the funding to strengthen its data analytics capabilities. It will also implement artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance production, and influence planting and lending decisions. The company works with clusters of mid-sized farms and with a network of 2,000+ smallholders in two counties in the central region of Kenya, where it has 16 collection centers. It establishes a direct linkage to local and global markets by buying produce from farmers, besides providing them with inputs and financing, machinery services, and advisory. The company states that it aims to increase farmers’ yield by up to 50% over 2 - 3 seasons. Founded in 2020, FarmWorks has to date raised USD 5.6 million.
01/08/23
Indonesia’s Beleaf secures $6.85 million to expand “farming as a service”
Indonesian agritech Beleaf has secured USD 6.85 million in a series A round led by Alpha JWC Ventures with the participation of Openspace Ventures and angel investors. The funding will support the scaleup of its “farming as a service” for leafy greens and root vegetables farmers from Puncak and Bandung to new regions of Indonesia (Bali, Medan and Lambing). It also plans to expand its distribution and offtaking capabilities connecting farmers, distributors, and retailers. As previously reported by AgrisTechia, in October 2022 the start-up raised USD 2 million in a seed funding round led by Alpha JWC Ventures. Founded in 2019, Beleaf started as a hydroponic farm to then expand into smart farming with the ambition to increase the yield and productivity of smallholders. The agritech uses big data and the Internet-of-Things (IoT) to enable precise automation and farm management services.
14/08/23
Ghana’s Oyster Agribusiness raises $310,000 from Root Capital
Ghanaian agritech start-up Oyster Agribusiness has raised USD 310,000 in grant and debt funding from Root Capital, a non-profit lender that supplies agri-related enterprises with financial capital and training. The start-up will use the funds to scaleup operations. Established in 2018, Oyster Agribusiness works with 3,000+ smallholder farmers providing them with sustainable inputs, agronomic advisory and market linkages. The company’s primary activity is the production and processing of agriculture produce for the local and export market. It prioritises organic farming methods, water conservation approaches and the use of renewable energy.
15/08/23
PasarMIKRO raises undisclosed amount in Indonesia
Indonesia’s PasarMIKRO, an app-based B2B marketplace platform for farmers and middlemen, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from impact investors DEG Impact and Ceniarth. As reported by AgrisTechia, the deal follows the November 2022 seed round, when the agritech raised USD 2.5 million from regional VC firms Trihill Capital and Resolution Ventures, with the participation of Genting Ventures and 1982 Ventures. According to reports, the start-up has 2,600 registered users (farmers, suppliers and traders), compared to 900 at the time of the seed round. Founded in 2020, PasarMIKRO was established in 2020, with its core solution being its market linkage platform app, enabling fast payments and access to credit. The app also offers a digital ledger and traceability functions.
In other news..
27/07/23
SatSure and Rabo Partnerships join forces for smallholder finance
SatSure, an Indian company that uses satellite remote sensing, machine learning and AI to address sustainability challenges, has joined forces with Rabo Partnerships, a subsidiary of Rabobank Group, to enable cash-flow based lending for smallholder farmers. The two organisations aim to build on each other’s capabilities for data analytics, risk analytics, network, and implementation power. Under the partnership, SatSure will use its Banking Solution SatSure Sage, a suite of applications designed to empower lending institutions in making intelligent decisions in agricultural loan management. The two organisations will co-create solutions to support cash-flow based lending methodologies, with the objective of decreasing dependency for land-based collateral as a precondition for farmers to obtain finance.
08/08/23
Arya.ag and SOPA partner for AI-based crop monitoring in India
India’s Arya.ag, an agritech and B2B market linkage platform for farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), has partnered with The Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA). Arya.ag will use its satellite surveillance product, Prakshep, and its AI solution dubbed VaMa to enhance crop monitoring for soybeans across 51 districts. SOPA will receive information, datasets, maps, and data-enriched secure APIs enabling it to make informed decision across its operations in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. SOPA will be able to detect anomalies and track farm growth via a mobile application provided by Arya.ag. Established in 1979 in Madhya Pradesh, the main soybean-growing region of India, SOPA is the only trade body in the country, which works directly with farmers for increasing soybean productivity. Founded in 2013, Arya.ag is a major agritech in India. It has so far received USD 65 million in equity capital from investors including Lightrock, Quona, Omnivore and Asia Impact Fund.
19/08/23
Pullus App targets Nigerian poultry farmers with agritech solution
Nigerian agritech Pullus Africa Solutions has launched an app to enable poultry farmers to access premium markets, insurance, and affordable finance. In addition, the Pullus app will help farmers to keep track records and will offer access to extension services. The company operates on a subscription base with the most affordable package available at NGN 3,000 per month (USD 4). According to reports, the agritech, which is currently working with 3,000 poultry farmers and 47 B2B partners, is targeting to reach 10,000 farmers in the next two years. Demand for poultry meat in Nigeria is projected to grow 4.1% yearly, between 2023 and 2030. Agritech solutions targeting poultry farmers are increasingly becoming available. Last July, GSMA announced the participation in its AgriTech Accelerator of Farmspeak, a Nigerian agritech that offers a climate-smart monitoring and regulating device and an AI-powered farm management app for poultry farmers.
What we are reading..
20/07/2023
Good reads: Zimbabwe’s digital agriculture assessment
The report Zimbabwe Digital Agriculture Assessment by Strategic Impact Advisors (SIA) with USAID and DAI provides an overview of the digital agriculture ecosystem in Zimbabwe. The study aims to inform current and future USAID/Zimbabwe programming that supports the advancement and adoption of digital agriculture tools in the country. In pursuit of this objective, SIA conducted comprehensive desk research and held key informant interviews (KIIs) with a range of stakeholders to establish an understanding of the digital agriculture products and services available in Zimbabwe, as well as their current and potential usage.
In the report SIA identified various key demand and supply side challenges, such as limited digital literacy, lack of access to finance, and high data costs, affecting the development, delivery, and adoption of digital agriculture solutions. Despite these identified challenges, several building blocks are in place that can help spur further development, adoption, and usage of digital agriculture, especially a young and extremely literate population, high mobile money account penetration rate and a diverse set of stakeholders that are well-positioned and willing to accelerate the digital agriculture ecosystem.