Louis de Kock - Afrikan Heroes

South African Agritech Startup Nile Raises $5.1M To Connect Farmers To Consumers

May 17, 2022

Naspers has made a R40 million ($2.5 million) investment in Nile, an agritech firm that connects farmers to consumers of fresh produce, through its early-stage tech investment vehicle Naspers Foundry. Naspers Foundry led the R83 million equity round, which included new investors Platform Investment Partners, Raba Capital, and Base Capital. Naspers Foundry’s eleventh investment since its inception in 2019 is part of Naspers’ R1.4 billion commitment to growing South Africa’s innovation ecosystem.

**Louis de Kock, Co-founder and CEO of Nile**

“We are delighted to have Naspers Foundry support our mission to make fresh produce more accessible to people across the African continent. While we were able to bootstrap Nile through our initial growth phase, we look forward to having the backing of an internationally respected investor and experienced operator like Naspers as we scale our cross-border operations to the rest of Africa,” Louis de Kock, Co-founder and CEO of Nile, said.

Why The Investors Invested

The startup acquired considerable traction since it was founded. Approximately 30 million kilograms of fruits and vegetables have been traded on the Nile platform since its launch, with customers from five nations and 35 Southern African cities. Farmers of all sizes, from small-scale farms to major commercial farmers, employ Nile’s services, with purchasers ranging from huge South African-listed company or a small family-owned merchants and distributors. Nile operates furthermore in Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, and Mozambique.

“The importance of food security cannot be overstated, and a platform like Nile provides a positive contribution towards helping to sustain it. According to the World Bank, Africa’s food system has huge potential to create more and better jobs. More inclusive value chains that link farmers and other stakeholders can help realise this potential. [1] Our investment in Nile is a great example of how technology can support communities and improve economic opportunity,” Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, South Africa CEO of Naspers, said.

“Nile provides a fully integrated ecosystem that creates trust between buyers and sellers on the platform and is a great example of tech entrepreneurs building innovative solutions that address people’s everyday needs. We are excited about the growth potential of this business and its contribution to transforming the trade of fresh produce,” Fabian Whate, Head of Naspers Foundry, said.

Naspers Foundry is a R1.4 billion early-stage business funding vehicle dedicated to growing South Africa-focused technology companies.

A Look At What The Startup Does

Nile was formed in 2020 to give farmers with digital solutions that can address many pain issues intrinsic to food trading, such as price transparency, quality verification, speed of payments, product traceability, and food waste.

Nile’s end-to-end strategy connects South African farmers with commercial retailers of fresh food across the continent. The B2B platform streamlines transactions and protects payments on behalf of farmers, resulting in enhanced cash flow and greater transparency. Nile utilizes data and a complicated logistical network to enable farmers to access higher-yielding markets, as opposed to only those that are geographically accessible. Fresh produce purchasers, such as retailers, wholesalers, and processors, have access to real-time availability and landing costs for a vast selection of produce, and can trade using a variety of B2B payment options.

Nile farmers South African Nile farmers South African

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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://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

South Africa’s Startup Launches Platform to Connect Farmers with Produce Buyers

January 15, 2021

Tech-enabled South African startup Nile has launched a sourcing platform that facilitates the wholesale trade of fresh produce, connecting farmers directly with buyers. The B2B e-commerce platform aggregates supply across the SADC region to offer buyers access to high quality fresh produce at transparent prices. “Our platform makes it easy and safe to trade fresh produce and a wholesale buyer can now view live prices and availability from multiple producers across different regions. A buyer can place orders instantly by selecting specific ripeness, grade, size and packaging,” said Louis de Kock, who co-founded Nile along with Eugene Roodt and Rick Kleinhans.

According to the founding team, they have been developing the business concept and platform since February 2020, but launched it to the public in November. Nile is looking to take advantage of the fact fresh produce trading is rapidly digitising in Southern Africa. “Nile has developed a digital ecosystem that solves issues inherent to food trading, including price discovery, quality verification, payments, and logistics,” said de Kock.

“While traditional markets require both products and traders to meet physically at a central location, online trading ensures that products are delivered through the shortest possible route between buyers and sellers. This greatly reduces food waste and food miles. Using technology and digitising the transaction process, Nile can reduce the high transaction costs inherent in the fresh produce industry.”

Nile is self-funded but considering initiating its first external fundraising round this year, and has already seen strong uptake since its launch. One million kilogrammes of fruit and vegetables have already been traded via its online platform, while Nile has also been able to onboard several of South Africa’s leading producers across most key trading lines. The startup charges a commission on trades made via its platform.

Louis de Kock added that “Nile currently enables South African farmers to sell directly to commercial buyers in SADC, thereby increasing their market potential,” saying that “Nile has a bigger vision where we see a future where Africa’s producers can access the markets with the biggest need for their products. By integrating regional food systems, we aim to make nutritious food more accessible to consumers across the continent and beyond.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry