Complete Farmer a Ghanaian agritech startup, has closed a $10.4 million pre-Series A funding round to make its service offerings more robust. The funding comprises $7 million in equity and $3.4 million in debt. The startup focuses on helping farmers improve efficiency in the agriculture value chain by leveraging modern-day practices.
The equity part of the funding round was spearheaded by the duo of Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) and Alitheia Capital (via its uMunthu II Fund in partnership with Goodwell Investments). Other participants include Proparco, Newton Partners, and VestedWorld Rising Star Fund. Meanwhile, debt financing came from Sahel Capital’s SEFAA (Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa) Fund, Alpha Mundi Group’s Alpha Jiri Investment Fund, and Global Social Impact Investments.
Part of the investment will be channelled into developing new products like a finance solution that promotes remittances from buyers to farmers. The startup also hopes to create a vendor outlet that facilitates the purchase of fertilizers and commodities by farmers to increase their farm efficiency. Meanwhile, the debt financing will be used to fund capital expenditures and working capital investments. Additionally, it intends to increase the number of fulfilment centres in Ghana and expand into new markets like Togo
Complete Farmer is an end-to-end agricultural marketplace that provides African producers and industries across the globe with competitive markets, resources, and data. It utilizes in-house cultivation protocols for crop production. This ensures that small and large-scale farmers can rear crops and other agricultural products that satisfy international market needs, reducing post-harvest losses.
Tamer El-Raghy, the MD of ARAF, commented on his company’s willingness to support the startup. Raghy said that he and the team loved Complete Farmer’s great strides in helping Ghanaian farmers break into the global scene. “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.
It is worth mentioning that Complete Farmer has experienced multiple changes before attaining its current status. Consider the startup’s CEO Desmond Koney who, after getting a degree in mechanical engineering, experimented with diverse projects.
One of those undertakings included an instrument that transformed kitchen organic refuse into methane gas. Koney eventually switched gears to agriculture following his inheritance of his father’s farm. Complete Farmer has since grown from being a contractor to develop farms to weathering the storms of the pandemic to what it is today.
Read also: Ivorian e-commerce startup ANKA raises $5m to onboard 100,000 African sellers by 2030
What Complete Farmer offers
The agritech startup serves producers and buyers of commodities with two main innovations: CF Grower and CF Buyer. CF Grower is farmer-oriented, meaning that it helps farmers enhance their output. It also connects them with global markets and improves their living standards with precision farming tools and data-based cultivation protocols.
Meanwhile, CF Buyer targets global buyers with reliable access to agricultural commodities that meet their market needs. Clients can browse a vast network of farmers and buy standard items using a fully digitized channel. They can also track the progress of orders up till the fulfilment stage.
Technext Newsletter
Get the best of Africa’s daily tech to your inbox – first thing every morning.
Join the community now!
