Gro Intelligence, a Nairobi-based startup that has developed the world’s most extensive collection of agriculture data as well as analytical tools has landed $85 million in Series B round of funding. The new round — which surpassed the $50 million target set by the company — was led by Intel Capital, a partnership between TPG Growth and EchoVC, and the family offices of Ronald Lauder and Eric Zinterhofer.

“One of the barriers to knowledge in agriculture is complexity — of language, of scientific knowledge, of the format in which the data is reported,” Sarah Menker told Financial Times in 2019. “If you take away that complexity, you can increase the base knowledge across the ecosystem. By doing that can you make our markets a lot more efficient.”

Here Is What You Need To Know

• With the latest investment, Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs president and Trump economic adviser, who was initially asked to find weak spots in Gro’s indexes has joined the company’s board. 

“Universally trusted and transparent data is important as companies are required to disclose more about their climate risks,” Gary was quoted as saying.

• The latest funding will assist Gro Intelligence to further develop indexes to measure conditions like drought, floods, temperature and more, according to Sara Menker, its founder and chief executive. Gro’s bigger ambition for these indexes include to promote a new array of financial instruments, like swaps which companies and investors can use to hedge climate risks, catastrophe bonds and even exchange-traded funds, said Ms. Menker.

• The financing will also be used to accelerate the growth and global adoption of the Gro Platform, enhancing the platform’s machine-learning capabilities and delivering localized insights on food, agriculture and climate risk.

Why The Investors Invested

According EchoVC, a Lagos-based VC, the investment was made into Gro Intelligence because solving for food security by understanding the effects of climate change is an example of the bold steps that will secure the lives and livelihood of the entire planet for generations to come.

“We love venture and we love the great work being carried out by Sara Menker and her team at Gro Intelligence,” it said. 

On its part, Intel Capital is a leading investor in innovative startups targeting artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, datacenter and cloud, 5G, next-generation compute and a wide range of other disruptive technologies. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested US$12.9 billion in more than 1,582 companies worldwide, and 692 portfolio companies have gone public or participated in a merger.

“Intel Capital identifies and invests in disruptive startups that are working to improve the way we work and live. Each of our recent investments is pushing the boundaries in areas such as AI, data analytics, autonomous systems and semiconductor innovation. Intel Capital is excited to work with these companies as we jointly navigate the current world challenges and as we together drive sustainable, long-term growth,” said Wendell Brooks, Intel senior vice president and president of Intel Capital, on the occasion of its recent investments. 

According to the Managing Partner of TPG Africa, Yemi Lalude, Gro Intelligence has had a remarkable journey so far and demonstrates the growing importance of AI in driving a more sustainable food supply

“TPG Growth is proud to have supported the company from its beginnings in Nairobi to the forefront of today’s efforts to make companies and institutions across multiple industries around the world more resilient to climate change and climate risk,” he said.

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Gro Intelligence funding Gro Intelligence funding

A Look At What Gro Intelligence Does

Founded in Nairobi, Kenya in 2014 by an Ethiopian Sarah Menker, Gro Intelligence has built Clews, a discovery engine for all data related to food and agriculture. The engine connects trillions of data points related to global crop production: weather, consumption, infrastructure, transportation, trade flows, prices, socio-economic indicators and environmental measurements, among others. 

“Our users are able to extract insights and access predictive modelling on a scale never possible before, enabling agriculture to enter the modern age. The trillions of data points, and over eight million data series, represent the most extensive collection of agricultural data in a single product,” says Sarah.

“We have found that Clews has helped everyone involved in agriculture, from traders to researchers, consultants to governments, better understand the drivers of supply and demand in agribusiness markets.”

Based in Nairobi and New York, Gro currently integrates over 40,000 data sets and processes north of 650 trillion data points.

Among Gro’s growing clientele is Unilever, whuch already uses Gro’s data for sustainability planning at its Knorr brand. 

“Data driven insights are key to assessing and managing the risk of climate change on our food supply,” said Dorothy Shaver, who leads Knorr’s global sustainability efforts.

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Gro Intelligence started out as an Africa-centric company, but quickly realised that, given how interconnected agriculture is for all countries, a global product was needed. By making a vast amount of agricultural data available in one place at an affordable price, the business believes it has already removed some of the information asymmetry that can prevent effective decision-making and resource allocation among key players in the industry.

“As a small business, it is important to stay focused and true to your mission, yet also be able to adjust your path as you learn new things about the industry,” says Sara. “The ability to be flexible and learn from experiences is vital for long-term growth.”

 Born and raised in Ethiopia, Menker attended university in the US and landed a job as an energy trader with Morgan Stanley. The decision to start Gro in 2014 emerged as her interest switched from energy to understanding the global agricultural system.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer