AgroCenta Raises a Pre-Series A Round Of $790k To Scale Its Agri-tech Ecosystem, And Secure Crop Purchases From Smallholder Farmers

Digital Food Distributor AgroCenta, has raised a pre-series A round of $790,000 working capital and development funding from Shell Foundation, FCDO, AV Ventures, and Rabo Foundation.

This funding, secured from UK charity Shell Foundation, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), AV Ventures, and Rabo Foundation, will enable AgroCenta to further develop its smallholder farmer inclusion programs and procure crops at transparent and fair market prices to service offtake contracts.

The Food Distributor through an all-encompassing ecosystem approach blends cutting edge digital innovation with traditional on the ground operations to transform the lives of smallholder farmers in Ghana, providing support along the value chain.

Francis Obirikorang, AgroCenta’s CEO and Co-Founder Michael Ocansey highlighted the importance of the funding, saying, “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 off-takers 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”.

AgroCenta has managed to reduce food waste by 25%. They have well-positioned smallholder farmers so they can get reliable access to financing, inputs, and knowledge on agricultural practices to create sustainable food security.

Smallholder farmers can now execute transactions with accurate information through the companies app, CropChain. This has increased the average farmer’s income by approximately 35%.

Through community engagement, the company is working to increase gender equality and land ownership by women in a sector where 50% of smallholder farmers are women.

Agriculture accounts for circa. 17% of Ghana’s GDP. Through its outreach and services, AgroCenta has increased crop yields of farmers by 40% thereby contributing to Ghana’s economy at large.