Complete Farmer, a Ghanaian agritech business located in Ghana, has closed a $10.4 million pre-Series A fundraising round to make its service offerings more robust.
The finance includes an equity contribution of $7 million and a loan contribution of $3.4 million. Leveraging new methods as a means of assisting farmers in being more productive throughout the agriculture value chain is the primary objective of the firm.
The Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) and Alitheia Capital (through its uMunthu II Fund in conjunction with Goodwell Investments) were the ones to drive the equity portion of the investment round. In addition to those already mentioned, other participants include Proparco, Newton Partners, and VestedWorld Rising Star Fund. Meanwhile, debt finance was provided by Alpha Mundi Group’s Alpha Jiri Investment Fund, Sahel Capital’s SEFAA (Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa) Fund, and Global Social Impact Investments.
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A portion of the investment will go towards creating new goods, such as a financing solution that encourages remittances from customers to farmers. The new business also aims to establish a vendor outlet that will make it easier for farmers to buy fertilisers and other commodities, ultimately leading to improved farm productivity. In the meantime, the funding from the debt will be put towards funding capital expenditures as well as investments in working capital. In addition, it plans to expand into new markets such as Togo and increase the number of fulfilment locations it operates in Ghana.
Complete Farmer is an end-to-end agricultural marketplace that connects African producers and industries across the globe with competitive marketplaces, resources, and data. This is made possible by Complete Farmer’s ability to cover all aspects of agriculture. For crop production, it makes use of its own proprietary cultivation procedures. This guarantees that farmers of all sizes can cultivate crops and other agricultural goods that satisfy the requirements of worldwide markets, thereby lowering the amount of food that is wasted after harvest.
Comments From ARAF Managing Director
Tamer El-Raghy, the Managing Director of ARAF, made a statement on the desire of his company to help the startup. Raghy stated that he and the team were quite impressed with the remarkable achievements that Complete Farmer had made in assisting Ghanaian farmers in breaking into the international market.
“Complete Farmer’s technology platform and farming protocols enable farmers to access quality inputs, agronomical support, and premium markets, resulting in improved yields and income as reported by the farmers themselves,” he further stated.
Before reaching its current state, Complete Farmer went through several different iterations, all of which are worthy of being mentioned. Take for example the Chief Executive Officer of the new company, Desmond Koney, who, after earning a degree in mechanical engineering, worked on various projects.
One of these endeavours involved the development of a device that could convert the organic waste produced in kitchens into methane gas. After receiving the farm from his father as an inheritance, Koney ultimately decided to pursue a career in agriculture. Since then, Complete Farmer has evolved from its previous state as a contractor specialising in the development of farms to its current state after enduring the ups and downs brought on by the epidemic.
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More About Complete Farmer
With its two primary breakthroughs, CF Grower and CF Buyer, the agritech business caters to both the producers and the purchasers of various commodities. Because it is focused on the needs of farmers, CF Grower provides assistance in increasing crop yields. In addition to this, it links them up with global markets and raises their level of living by providing them with precision farming instruments and production procedures based on data.
In the meanwhile, CF Buyer provides international purchasers with dependable access to agricultural commodities that satisfy the requirements of their respective markets. Customers have the ability to search through a massive network of farmers and purchase common items through a completely digital channel. They are also able to monitor the development of orders all the way up until the stage of fulfillment.
