Kenyan Agritech startup, iProcure has secured a Series B funding round of $10.2 million which was led by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) and participation from Novastar Ventures, Ceniarth, and British International Investment (BII). This funding will be used to grow its presence in Kenya and Uganda, which are its current markets, and to enter Tanzania.
iProcure, founded in 2013 by Stefano Carcoforo and Nicole Galleta, currently connects 5,000 agro-dealers to various manufacturers, but this number is expected to grow as it onboards more partners and retailers across the three markets, and as it doubles its distribution hubs to 20, enhancing last-mile delivery.
“We have built out a Pan-African distribution infrastructure, and we are using these funds to scale our operations in our two markets and to enter Tanzania. We’re also going to be allocating some of the resources towards introducing higher quality cheaper products that we are sourcing from international players,” said iProcure co-founder and chief data and growth officer, Stefano Carcoforo.
Through agro-dealers, iProcure targets to double the reach of farmers to 2 million in the next one year. The agritech provides the agro-dealers with an end-to-end Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that operates from mobile devices, helping them manage their sourcing and distribution.
This technology has introduced new efficiencies that control the penetration of sub-standard supplies as retailers are able to source directly from certified manufacturers and distributors. By helping manage stock-outs, the agritech ultimately helps stabilize product prices for the benefit of both the sellers and end-users.
For added reach, iProcure plans to extend zero-interest credit to agro-dealers, increasing their ability to purchase the hardware required to use its ERP system. By plugging in more retailers to its system, iProcure will additionally, get access to data required to inform its growth strategy, including a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service currently in the pipeline
