AgroCenta, the Ghanaian agri-tech startup has commenced efforts aimed at scaling up its agri-tech ecosystem and secure crop purchases from smallholder farmers with a US$790,000 pre-Series A funding it raised. The startup operates a mobile merchanting platform which provides market information, storage and delivery solutions, and financial services to smallholder farmers in Ghana since inception four years ago.
It has already registered farmers on AgroCenta’s app, CropChain, have rapidly grown from 3,000 to over 46,000, mainly handling white and yellow maize, rice, soybean, cowpeas, and sorghum.
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It could be recalled that AgroCenta was winner of the Seedstars World competition back in 2018 and raised seed funding the same year, has now secured US$790,000 in pre-Series A investment from Shell Foundation, FCDO, AV Ventures and Rabo Foundation.
It plans to use the funding to further develop its smallholder farmer inclusion programmes and procure crops at transparent and fair market prices to service offtake contracts. The startup’s chief executive officer (CEO) Francis Obirikorang and co-founder Michael Ocansey said the investment was vitally important.
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“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,” they said.
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“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.”
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