Ghanaian agtech Farmerline raises $1.5M from Dutch investor Oikocredit • TechCrunch

Ghanaian agtech Farmerline has secured $1.5 million fairness funding from Dutch impression investor Oikocredit in its second shut of the pre-series A spherical. The brand new funding brings the whole quantity raised within the spherical to $14.4 million, together with $6.4 debt funding.

The funding comes at a time when Farmerline, which has operations throughout Ghana, is establishing store in Ivory Coast because it continues its enlargement throughout West Africa.

Based in 2013 by Alloysius Attah and Emmanuel Owusu Addai, Farmerline works by way of agro-dealers, who’re often the primary level of data for farmers, in guaranteeing entry to high-quality provides, together with fertilizer and seeds.

The associate retailers use the startup’s Mergdata, a proprietary AI expertise platform for provide chain intelligence, to digitize the farmers they serve, and to generate the information required to foretell the demand of farm provides and forestall stock-outs. It additionally makes use of that knowledge to find out the quantity of enterprise enlargement credit score to present to agro-dealers.

“With the assist of Oikocredit alongside our first-round funders, our distribution, logistics and financing providers will proceed not solely in Ghana but additionally in Ivory Coast the place we’ve lately begun the method of increasing our group,” mentioned Attah in a press release.

In a previous interview, Attah advised TechCrunch that Farmerline is increasing its bodily infrastructure like warehouses and distribution networks to make it a market that permits the quicker motion of provides to and from rural areas. The logistics community additionally helps farmers to shortly entry markets for higher incomes and to cut back post-harvest losses and waste.

Farmerline mentioned it’s planning on strengthening its provide chain for agribusinesses to cut back the price of farming and enhance yield for farmers on the continent by way of the deployment of AI expertise and native infrastructure.

“As fertiliser costs greater than quadruple and the battle in Ukraine compounds world meals safety challenges, this funding is essential,” it mentioned.

Farmerline claimed to have to date financed round $18 million price of inputs and crops by way of franchise store alliances with agribusinesses and enter sellers.

The startup targets to achieve 300,000 farmers in 2022, a virtually 400% enhance in progress in comparison with final yr, when it doubled its direct-reach to 79,000 farmers, up from 36,000 in 2020 and eight,000 in 2019.

Oikocredit’s fairness officer, Mila Georgieva, mentioned, “The dangerous impression of rocketing fertiliser prices on smallholder farmers in Africa is evident. With our funding in Farmerline, we’re supporting these most affected by the value volatility. Our investments within the agriculture sector are on the core of Oikocredit’s work as a social impression investor, and now we have already recognized synergies with different portfolio corporations. We’re thrilled to assist Farmerline Group and smallholder communities throughout Ghana and Ivory Coast.”

Farmerline’s different fairness traders embrace Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial improvement financial institution, and Larger Affect Basis.