Leading Ghanaian Agritech startup, Farmerline has secured a
US$6.4 million Pre-Series A investment and $6.5 million debt to strengthen its
supply chain for agribusinesses; reduce the cost of farming; and increase yield
for farmers on the continent through the deployment of AI technology and local
infrastructure, with support from FMO.
Farmerline’s
marketplace combines digital tools, logistics, field agents, farm resources,
and agribusiness partnerships to support African farmers with access to
high-quality fertilizer and seeds; free education on climate-smart farming
practices; and connections to international markets.
The company’s in-house technology platform Mergdata is also
licensed by global food traders and manufacturers who use its customizable
tools to improve the lives of farmers around the world.
In a statement
issued earlier on Tuesday, it noted that the US$6.4 million Pre-Series A investment, led by
Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund(ARAF) and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial
development bank, is Farmerline’s first equity raise since launching with a
US$600 grant almost a decade ago. The other investor of the $6.4 million equity
round is Greater Impact Foundation.
According to the statement, to date, the company has
digitized over 1 million farmers through partnerships across 26 countries;
employed over 200 people in Ghana; and evolved Mergdata into an AI-powered super-platform
for supply chain intelligence like crop yield prediction, fertilizer demand
forecasting, product traceability, and Agribusiness credit scoring for asset
and fertilizer financing.
“Lenders of the $6.5 million debt include DEG, Rabobank,
Ceniarth, Rippleworks, Mulago Foundation, Whole Planet Foundation, Netri
Foundation and Kiva,” it said.
When covid
hit in 2020, over 16,000 agribusiness firms closed down in Ghana. However,
those who did pull through presented themselves as some of the most efficient
and sustainable ways to reach Africa’s 33 million smallholder farms. Hence,
Farmerline works through agricultural SMEs to ultimately serve more farmers.
‘At the peak
of the pandemic, local agricultural SMEs played a vital role in ensuring food
security – supporting farmers; supplying agricultural inputs; and distributing
to final consumers,’ says Farmerline’s co-founder and chief executive officer,
Alloysius Attah. ‘With this new investment, we will scale the AI capabilities
within Farmerline’s Mergdata platform to help increase the income of farmers
and agribusinesses; supporting them to access farm inputs; supplying them with
assets such as tricycles, tractors and threshers; and connecting them to global
markets.’
Farmerline
will also invest in local infrastructure and logistics to support distribution,
and accelerate the industry’s marketplace currently across Ghana with plans to
deepen relationships with partners in Ivory Coast.
Co-founder and chief operations officer of Farmerline Emmanuel Owusu
Addai said:
‘Farmerline’s goal has always been to create lasting wealth for farmers and
their communities. To do that at scale, we’re expanding our operations across
regions and are actively on the lookout for the best talent to help build an
efficient supply chain that saves money for agribusinesses, reduces the cost of
farming and the time it takes for people to get services to rural areas. We
must ensure that local agribusinesses grow because when they do, we all
succeed.’
Tamer El-Raghy, Managing Director of
ARAF, said:
‘We’re honored to co-lead this investment round in Farmerline with FMO and
excited to partner with world-class Ghanaian entrepreneurs like Alloysius and
Emmanuel. Farmerline’s technology platform helps smallholder farmers adapt to
climate change by increasing their income and reducing their income volatility
by providing them with access to inputs and markets while helping them adapt
sustainable and climate-smart practices which perfectly fits ARAF’s investment
strategy. This is an invaluable addition to ARAF’s portfolio and we look
forward to supporting Farmerline’s local and regional growth.’
Maurice Scheepens, Senior Investment
Officer for FMO’s Venture Program, added: ‘We are honoured to be part of Farmerline’s
first institutional capital raise together with our partner ARAF. Farmerline is
an excellent addition to FMO’s Ventures Program portfolio, which aims to
empower local entrepreneurs that leverage disruptive technology for a better
world. We are impressed with the platform the local founding entrepreneurs have
been able to build and look forward to leveraging FMO’s network and value-add
offerings to sustainably support Famerline’s continued growth.’
By:
Kanto Okanta
