![]() “We realized there was demand and needed to determine how to satisfy it. The Accra-based agritech raised $2.2 million for its seed round from investors and accelerators, including Ingressive Capital, EchoVC, Launch Africa, Samurai Incubate, Kepple Ventures and Norrsken Accelerator. Complete Farmer realized it could provide customers with the necessary crops by leveraging its relationship with thousands of farmers from earlier platform iterations, he explained. The marketplace model integrates the agritech’s experience operating as a contractor and being crowdfunded, Koney said. Consequently, it transitioned to an aggregator and marketplace model, similar to what Thrive Agric, a former crowdfunding platform, now employs with considerable success. It became apparent to Complete Farmer, which started raising a seed round in 2020, that investors were not enthusiastic about agricultural crowdfunding. Complete Farmer moved forward with its solution until the pandemic, which disrupted the operations of numerous crowdfunding businesses, leading to scalability and payment default issues, struck.ĭue to these issues, platforms such as Farmcrowdy and Crowdyvest have suspended or ceased operations. The TechCrunch Battlefield Africa’s finalist received approximately $150,000 in pre-seed funding from MEST Africa. In 2018, the group launched a crowdfunding platform permitting users to invest in sustainable farms and monitor agricultural activities. Initially, the company operated as a contractor to cultivate farms on behalf of clients. We’ve had to make several adjustments to determine both.” “However, this aspiration can be vague, as one must determine what business model works, what the product is, etc. On the call, he stated that this was how Complete Farmer started. “My area of expertise was in production engineering, and I desired to digitize my father’s property. However, Koney quickly found his footing in agriculture after inheriting his father’s farm, where he discovered several challenges widespread throughout the value chain. After graduating as a mechanical engineer, CEO Desmond Koney tried his hands on multiple projects, including a device that converted kitchen organic refuse into methane gas and a vertical farming venture. Since its launch in 2017, the agritech has undergone several iterations before its current state. “Complete Farmer’s technology platform and farming protocols enable farmers to access quality inputs, agronomical support and premium markets, resulting in improved yields and income as reported by the farmers themselves.” “We have been impressed with the progress that Complete Farmer has made in facilitating access to global trade for Ghanaian farmers, as well as introducing them to new crops and sustainable farming practices,” Tamer El-Raghy, the managing director of ARAF, said of the investment. Sahel Capital’s SEFAA (Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa) Fund, Alpha Mundi Group’s Alpha Jiri Investment Fund and Global Social Impact Investments provided debt financing. Additionally, Proparco, Newton Partners via the DP World Venture Fund and VestedWorld Rising Star Fund participated. The Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) and Alitheia Capital (via its uMunthu II Fund in partnership with Goodwell Investments) co-led the equity part of the round. It raised a recently concluded $10.4 million pre-Series A funding round ($7 million equity and $3.4 million debt) to consolidate its efforts. To that end, Ghanaian agritech Complete Farmer seeks to transform farming practices in the region by developing critical technical and physical infrastructure to enhance efficiency in the agricultural value chain. As a result of the preponderance of small and medium-sized farms, increasing productivity is essential for enhancing economic conditions in African countries. The percentage of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa exceeds 60%, while agriculture accounts for approximately 23% of the region’s gross domestic product.īut despite the apparent opportunity in the agricultural sector, it is difficult for Africa to successfully participate in global supply chains due to supply chain and infrastructure limitations. Africa’s agricultural sector has a significant social and economic impact, per McKinsey.
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