AgroCenta raises US$ 790k of Pre-Series A Working Capital & Development Funding From Shell Foundation, FCDO, AV Ventures and Rabo Foundation to scale its Agri-tech Ecosystem and secure Crop Purchases from smallholder farmers.
29th January, 2021
ACCRA, GHANA — AgroCenta, via an all-encompassing ecosystem approach, blends cutting edge digital innovation with traditional on the ground operations to transform the lives of smallholder farmers in Ghana, providing support along the value chain. This funding, secured from UK charity Shell Foundation, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), AV Ventures and Rabo Foundation, will enable AgroCenta to further develop its smallholder farmer inclusion programmes and procure crops at transparent and fair market prices to service offtake contracts.
Agriculture and farming are a staple activity for more than half of the population in many West-African countries. Whilst smallholder farmers relentlessly work their plots of land, they often face many challenges when they try to bring and sell their harvest to the market. Lack of information on fair market prices for different crops often leaves them at the mercy of selling at low prices to middlemen.
In addition, lacking adequate infrastructure, logistics and transportation also limits their access to larger urban markets, where they could obtain much better pricing for their crops. Furthermore, the lack of basic data that enables KYC (Know Your Customer) and a limited or non-existent credit history means that smallholders have very limited access to finance. This prevents them from being able to utilise all of their land for growing crops or forces them to resort to using lower quality inputs — leading to stagnation at the bottom of the pyramid.
- Through AgroCenta’s CropChain platform, smallholder farmers can execute transactions with accurate information. Since the app’s launch, the average CropChain farmer’s income has increased by circa 35%.
- With reliable access to financing, inputs and knowledge on agricultural best practices, smallholder farmers are well positioned to contribute to sustainable food security in the long run. AgroCenta has managed to reduce food waste by 25%.
- Through community engagement, the company is working to increase gender equality and land ownership by women in a sector where 50% of smallholder farmers are women.
- Agriculture accounts for circa. 17% of Ghana’s GDP. Through its outreach and services, AgroCenta has increased crop yields of farmers by 40% thereby contributing to Ghana’s economy at large.
Francis Obirikorang, AgroCenta’s CEO and Co-Founder Michael Ocansey highlight the importance and criticality of this investment: “This is a significant milestone for AgroCenta, having the support of leading institutions, particularly with the COVID-19 backdrop, underlining the strength of AgroCenta and the importance of its mission. The demand for agricultural raw materials from offtakers in the brewery, manufacturing and consumer sector is increasing exponentially because of the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions that were put in place by the government of Ghana, hence this capital injection will help to secure purchases at fair and transparent prices from smallholders — a much needed lifeline for many who are at the proverbial bottom of the pyramid”.
All enquiries should be directed to: Amitji Odedra, Qbera Capital LLP.
Key Parties:
AgroCenta via an all-encompassing ecosystem approach blends cutting edge digital innovation with traditional on the ground operations to transform the lives of smallholder farmers in Ghana, providing support along the value chain.
Founded in 2016, AgroCenta operates a mobile merchanting platform which provides market information, storage & delivery solutions and financial services to smallholder farmers in Ghana.
Since its launch, registered farmers on AgroCenta’s app, CropChain, have rapidly grown from 3,000 to 46,100 mainly handling white and yellow maize, rice, soybean, cowpeas, and sorghum.
AgroCenta’s distribution channel is spread across 5 regions in Ghana.
Since AgroCenta’s launch, the average registered farmer on CropChain has seen their income increase by circa. 35% and food waste by farmers has been reduced by 25%.
Qbera Capital is an independent advisory and asset management firm, facilitating and providing debt and equity solutions for real economy assets and companies specialising in the energy, resources, agricultural and renewables sectors.
Qbera Capital is AgroCenta’s strategic advisor.
Shell Foundation is a UK-registered charity, founded by Shell in 2000, that creates and scales business solutions to enhance access to energy and affordable transport. We exist to serve the low-income communities most affected by these issues.
FCDO leads the UK’s work to end extreme poverty. We are tackling the global challenges of our time including poverty and disease, mass migration, insecurity and conflict. Our work is building a safer, healthier, more prosperous world for people in developing countries and in the UK too.
SF and FCDO funding was deployed under a joint partnership: Catalysing Agriculture by Scaling Energy Ecosystems (CASEE).
AV Ventures is ACDI/VOCA impact investing subsidiary dedicated to providing innovative, catalytic financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in West Africa and Central Asia.
AV Ventures investments are complemented with technical assistance and market linkage support to help build capacity and expand market opportunities for entrepreneurs. Founded in 2017, AV Ventures leverages ACDI/VOCA’s more than 50 years of experience in the international development field and leadership in the transformation of market systems.
Rabo Foundation is an impact investment fund, founded by Rabobank in 1974. We invest in de self-sufficiency of farmer organizations in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We provide access to finance, knowledge, network and new technological developments. Our objectives are to achieve economic, social and environmental impact for smallholder farmers.
