Digital agriculture in LMICs - 3 Jul #92
African agritechs on the rise as Ghana's Complete Farmer, Tanzania's MazaoHub and Egypt's AgriCash get funding; In India, Eggoz raises $20M series C
18/06/25
MazaoHub secures follow-on investment to grow operations
Tanzanian agritech MazaoHub, a data driven agriculture company specialised in hyperlocal soil analytics, has secured a follow-on investment from Nordic Impact Funds, an impact-focused fund manager. With the cash injection, Mazao Hub plans to accelerate expansion across Tanzania. The agritech startup has grown from 5 to 15 regions and expanded its Farmer Excellence Centers (FECs) to over 350, now serving over 54,000 farmers, including 22,000 women. MazaoHub reports that it has facilitated approximately 280,000 soil tests to date, reduced synthetic fertiliser use by 30%, increased the use of organic manure by 500%, and boosted average yields by 150% per hectare. The company plans to scale to 24 regions, and to eventually expand into Kenya, Rwanda, and Zambia, and serve over 100,000 farmers with a focus on women and youth agronomists.
Photo credit: Nordic Impact Funds
23/06/25
Complete Farmer gets $2.5M financing to expand in Northern Ghana
Ghana’s agritech Complete Farmer has secured USD 2.5 million in EU-backed funding from AgriFI, a European Union-funded blending facility that supports value chain investments with a focus on smallholder inclusion. The financing will contribute to the construction of six new fulfilment centres (hubs for aggregation, quality control, and logistics) with a focus on the country’s five northern regions. The objective is to provide services to over 5,000 farmers.
Photo credit: EDFI Management Company
Founded in 2017, Complete Farmer is an end-to-end agri value chain digitisation solution. At its core is the CF Grower solution, which connects farmers to international markets and provides them with precision agriculture services using uses satellite, IoT technologies and crop data insights for crop growth optimisation and for market standards and specifications. CF Buyer then allows aggregators and agribusinesses to procure quality-certified goods from the Complete Farmer network.
In 2023, Complete Farmer raised USD 10.4 million in a pre-Series A funding round co-led by the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) and Alitheia Capital (uMunthu II Fund via Goodwell). Complete Farmer aims to provide services to over 50,000 Ghanaian farmers by 2028.
27/06/25
Egypt’s AgriCash raises funding to scale AI-driven farmer finance
Egyptian agri-fintech startup AgriCash has secured undisclosed seed funding in a round led by Alex Angels, with participation from regional investors. Founded in 2024, AgriCash offers a digital financing platform providing AI-powered agronomic insights, crop insurance, and a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) model tailored for farmers. The new capital will support expansion across Egypt and into regional markets, enhance AI infrastructure, and finalise integrations with financial and insurance partners. AgriCash aims to reach EGP 500 million (USD 10.1 million) in business volume by 2025 and plans to launch livestock financing in 2026. The startup claims to have more than 1,500 active farmers on its digital solution, having reached 100,000+ farmers across rural Egypt. It has partnerships with 60 certified suppliers.
30/06/25
Eggoz raises $20M Series C to scale tech-enabled poultry market
India’s Eggoz has raised USD 20 million in a Series C round led by private equity firm Gaja Capital, with participation from IvyCap Ventures, Rebright Partners, Avaana Capital, Nabventures among others. Established in 2017, Eggoz is a B2B market linkage platform connecting poultry farmers with retailers. Besides large-scale farmers, Eggoz works with medium and smallholder farmers though a tech-enabled, asset-light model that aims to make eggs traceable and high quality.
The funding will support expansion into new Indian cities, deepen market presence and invest in technology and supply-chain infrastructure for traceable, hygienic eggs. The startup achieved 76% year-on-year revenue growth in the 2025 financial year. At the end of 2022, Eggoz raised USD 8.8 million in a Series B round led by IvyCap Ventures.
02/07/25
Philippines’ telco PLDT expands digital agri programme
PLDT‑Smart Foundation (PSF), the social arm of Philippine telco PLDT, together PLDT’s mobile operator arm Smart, are expanding their Digital Farmers Program (DFP) into new regions by brinigng FarmTech training kits to farmer groups. The latest initiative was in the Pampanga Province in Central Luzon. These portable kits contain 10 smartphones, a trainer’s tablet, a Smart Bro Pocket WiFi with started load, a portable projector, speaker, and mic, and curated learning materials on agriculture. Designed to overcome challenges in remote communities, the FarmTech initiative provides farmers with access apps, e‑learning modules, and market tools on-site. Launched in 2019, DFP provides Filipino farmers with access to digital literacy trainings, digital tools, connectivity support, and other agricultural services. The initiative has reached about 10,000 farmers through over 300 training sessions.
30/06/25
Good reads: GSMA presents global lessons on blockchain in agriculture
GSMA Mobile for Development (M4D), the foundation arm of the GSMA, has released a report on blockchain use cases in agricultural value chain digitisation in LMICs. The study looks at international experiences on blockchain deployments and focuses on the opportunity to deploy blockchain solutions in Kenya. Key use cases include digital identity, input verification, credit, loans, insurance, traceability, and carbon credits. The report stresses the need for blockchain providers to address multiple farmer pain points simultaneously, such as verified digital IDs improving credit access and transparent supply chains boosting market access, and to prioritise enhancing existing processes before disruption.
The study targets agribusinesses, cooperatives, and farmer groups deploying or considering blockchain, as well as investors, donors, and agritech solution providers. It features case studies including Hiveonline’s myCoop.online digital ID platform, operational across Ghana, Kenya, and Mozambique; GeoKrishi’s DESIS 2.0, a blockchain-powered seed certification system from Nepal; BIMA Bolt, a blockchain-based parametric crop insurance product for farmers in Kenya; and E-livestock Global’s blockchain solution to digitally manage livestock-related data in Zimbabwe.