Vendease is a Y Combinator-backed digital platform that allows restaurants in Africa to buy supplies, access financial services, and power their business operations. The company raised $30 million in an equity and debt funding round in 2022.
To learn more about the company, we interviewed, Olumide Fayankin, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Vendease.
As Co-Founder and the COO at Vendease, Olumide is responsible for the company’s exponential growth, supply, procurement, and financial operations. His innovative strategies have led the Vendease team to serve over 4,000 food businesses in Africa.
Here’s our interview with him about the company and its operations:
Tech Labari: Can you provide an overview of the current state of food waste in African markets, and what factors contribute to this issue?
Olumide Fayankin: Approximately one-third of all foods produced globally for human consumption is lost or wasted, resulting in economic losses of an estimated $ 1 trillion a year. In Africa and other parts of the developing world, more than 40% of food losses occur at post-harvest and processing levels, with nearly 50% of fruits and vegetables never reaching the market.
In addition to reduced economic returns for farmers and the exacerbation of the global food crisis, food waste also contributes to 8-10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Improper harvesting methods, the lack of effective storage facilities, packaging technologies, and transporting systems substantially contribute to post-harvest food waste in Sub-Saharan Africa.
By enabling a favorable economic environment and providing essential infrastructure such as land, security, and water, the government can further collaborate with Vendease to scale processes to tackle food waste.
Olumide Fayankin
Furthermore, consumer preferences for visually perfect produce, coupled with restaurant food waste stemming from mismanaged inventory, also significantly contribute to food waste. Lastly, the absence of reliable and up-to-date data on food loss and waste hampers the development of effective policies and strategies to address the problem. This makes it challenging for governments and stakeholders to take appropriate actions.”
TL: What are some of your innovative technologies or approaches being employed to reduce food waste in the African food supply chain?
Olumide Fayankin: Vendease tackles food waste at every point in the value chain, from post-harvest to the final consumers. By acting as off-takers for farmers, Vendease helps farmers sell all of their produce as soon as the harvest is done. We connect farmers to a ready market and facilitate the movement of their harvest to the people who need it. This significantly reduces post-harvest waste. We also transport food produce across the country, from farmer to user, thereby reducing the fraction of waste that would have occurred as a result of improper transportation systems.
Our cold storage model helps extend the shelf life of fresh and frozen foods, thereby reducing waste that may otherwise occur before it reaches the end users.
TL: How is Vendease’s platform being leveraged to improve inventory management and reduce food losses in African markets?
Olumide Fayankin: The Vendease platform is being leveraged to improve inventory management and reduce food losses in the African market through the use of:
- Data analytics to reveal insights into demand and inventory trends. This ensures there is an adequate quantity of items at the right time and minimizes overstocking or understocking, which can result in food losses. The use of predictive analytics to forecast future product demand increases the accuracy of inventory planning, thus lowering the possibility of surplus goods becoming wasted.
- The platform provides real-time visibility into the inventory, enabling us to effectively track inventory levels and restock as appropriate.
TL: How do cultural and regional differences impact the implementation of food waste reduction solutions in various African markets?
Olumide Fayankin: While the African market primarily grapples with higher proportions of food loss than food waste, cultural and regional differences have a profound impact on the implementation of food waste reduction solutions. Income disparities play a pivotal role, as research indicates that low-income areas generate a higher percentage of food waste compared to middle and high-income areas, due to inadequate storage and electricity facilities.
By optimizing our operations to mitigate food waste, we have facilitated the movement of more than 1 million metric tonnes of food, preventing an estimated $1.1 million worth of food wastage, thus contributing to heightened sustainability and a reduced environmental footprint.
Olumide Fayankin
Inappropriate post-harvest management practices, influenced by local knowledge and customs, result in food losses across regions. Weather-related factors, such as rainfall during harvest, affect post-harvest storage conditions differently in various areas.
Cultural preferences also have a significant influence on food consumption and dietary habits, such as discarding leftovers or overstocking perishables. Additionally, gender dynamics, including limited female participation in decision-making, contribute to the adoption of inappropriate practices and the escalation of food losses.
TL: What role do government policies and regulations play in supporting or hindering efforts to reduce food waste in Africa?
Olumide Fayankin: Government policies and regulations play a significant role in efforts to reduce food waste. Investing in infrastructure improvement projects, addressing road and transportation network issues, and supporting agricultural production to reduce bottlenecks in food distribution are among the actions that the government can take to reduce food waste. To achieve this, there is an urgent need for public-private partnerships with organizations like Vendease that are already working towards reducing food waste.
By enabling a favorable economic environment and providing essential infrastructure such as land, security, and water, the government can further collaborate with Vendease to scale processes to tackle food waste.
TL: Can you share insights into the economic and environmental benefits that can be achieved by reducing food waste in African markets?
Olumide Fayankin: SDG 12.3 underscores the economic and environmental importance of tackling food loss. Direct economic benefits of achieving this goal include improved global nutrition, enhanced food security, cost savings, and improved supply chain efficiency.
By optimizing our operations to mitigate food waste, we have facilitated the movement of more than 1 million metric tonnes of food, preventing an estimated $1.1 million worth of food wastage, thus contributing to heightened sustainability and a reduced environmental footprint.
Environmental benefits of reducing food waste include improved food security, sustainable sourcing, preservation of natural resources, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the development of more sustainable food systems, all of which are critical in addressing climate change.
TL: What are the key challenges and opportunities in scaling up innovative food waste reduction solutions across different regions in Africa, and how can stakeholders collaborate effectively to advance sustainability goals?
Olumide Fayankin: In a bid to tackle food waste, farmers and other stakeholders along the food value chain face a number of challenges, including underdeveloped and inefficient infrastructure, policy bottlenecks, and financial constraints.
However, within these challenges, there are also a number of opportunities within the sector, providing room for enhanced collaboration, technology adoption, and regional innovation.
Stakeholders can leverage these opportunities for capacity building, fostering public-private partnerships, and implementing robust monitoring and reporting mechanisms. This collective effort is vital for advancing sustainability goals and reducing food waste across the continent.
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