AgroCenta, a digital food distribution platform, has secured a $790,000 Pre-Series A funding from UK charity Shell Foundation, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), AV Ventures, and Rabo Foundation.
The funding will enable AgroCenta to further develop its smallholder farmer inclusion programmes and procure crops at transparent and fair market prices to service offtake contracts.
Through AgroCenta’s CropChain platform, smallholder farmers can execute transactions with accurate information and provide reliable access to financing, inputs and knowledge on agricultural best practices.
AgroCenta has increased crop yields of farmers by 40% and increased the average CropChain farmer’s income by 35%.
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.”
Source: AgroCentra Blog
