Ghana’s Farmerline Raises $1.5M To Expand Across West Africa
During the second close of the pre-Series A round, the Ghanaian agtech company Farmerline was successful in securing $1.5 million in equity capital from the Dutch impact investor Oikocredit. With this latest injection of capital, the total amount raised during this round now stands at $14.4 million, including $6.4 million in debt financing.
Other equity investors in Farmerline include the Greater Impact Foundation, the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (also known as ARAF), and FMO, which is the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank.
The money comes at a time when Farmerline, which already has businesses operating in Ghana, is in the process of establishing itself in Ivory Coast as part of its ongoing development throughout West Africa.
Why The Investors Invested
The startup has generated considerable traction since it was founded. Through franchise store relationships with agribusinesses and input dealers, Farmerline has reportedly funded around $18 million worth of inputs and crops to date. From 36,000 in 2020 and 8,000 in 2019, the business expects to boost its direct-reach to 300,000 farmers by 2022.
“The harmful impact of rocketing fertiliser costs on smallholder farmers in Africa is clear. With our investment in Farmerline, we are supporting those most affected by the price volatility. Our investments in the agriculture sector are at the core of Oikocredit’s work as a social impact investor, and we have already identified synergies with other portfolio companies. We are thrilled to support Farmerline Group and smallholder communities across Ghana and Ivory Coast,” Oikocredit’s equity officer, Mila Georgieva, said.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Farmerline was founded in 2013 by Alloysius Attah and Emmanuel Owusu Addai to help farmers acquire high-quality fertiliser and seeds through agro-dealers.
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Partner retailers utilise the startup’s Mergdata, an unique AI technology platform for supply chain intelligence, to digitise the farmers they serve and create data to forecast agricultural supply demand and prevent stock-outs. This data is also used to assess agro-dealer expansion credit.
“With the support of Oikocredit alongside our first-round funders, our distribution, logistics and financing services will continue not only in Ghana but also in Ivory Coast where we’ve recently begun the process of expanding our team,” said Attah in a statement.
Farmerline also claims it is extending its warehouses and distribution networks to facilitate speedier supply flow to and from rural regions. The logistics network helps farmers reach better markets and decrease post-harvest losses and waste.
Farmerline plans to expand its agriculture supply chain using AI and local infrastructure to cut farming costs and increase yields across the continent.
“As fertiliser prices more than quadruple and the conflict in Ukraine compounds global food security challenges, this investment is crucial,” it said.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexpert
