Ghanaian agtech FarmerLine has secured $1.5 million in equity funding from Dutch impact investor Oikocredit in the second round of a pre-Series A round. The new funding brings the total amount raised in the round, including $6.4 million in debt support, to $14.4 million.
The fund will operate across Ghana as Farmerline continues to expand in Ivory Coast, West Africa.
In the year Founded in 2013 by Aloysius Attah and Emmanuel Owusu Addai, Farmerline works through agro-dealers, typically providing farmers with a primary knowledge point, ensuring high-quality supplies including fertilizers and seeds.
Partner retailers use the startup’s Mergata, Supply Chain Intelligence’s proprietary AI technology platform, to digitize the farmers they serve, and generate the data needed to predict demand for farm supplies and prevent stock-outs. It uses that information to determine the amount of business expansion loans to agro-entrepreneurs.
“With our first round of funding, OikoCredit’s support for our distribution, logistics and financial services will continue not only in Ghana, but also in Ivory Coast, where we have recently begun the process of expanding our team,” Attah said in a statement. .
Atah told TechCrunch in a previous interview that Farmerline is expanding its physical infrastructure such as warehouses and distribution networks to make it a marketplace that can quickly transport its supplies to and from rural areas. A logistics network supports farmers to get to market faster for better income and reduce post-harvest wastage and wastage.
The farmer said that he is planning to strengthen the supply of agribusiness by expanding IT technology and local infrastructure to increase the production of the farmer by reducing the cost of agriculture.
“This investment is critical as fertilizer prices more than quadruple and the conflict in Ukraine adds to global food security challenges,” he said.
Farmerline says it has so far financed $18 million worth of inputs and crops through franchise shop partnerships with agribusinesses and input dealers.
The startup plans to reach 300,000 farmers by 2022, a nearly 400% increase from last year, doubling its direct reach to 79,000 farmers, up from 36,000 in 2020 and 8,000 in 2019.
Mila Georgieva, equity officer at Oikocredit, said: “The detrimental effect of wheeling fertilizer costs on smallholder farmers in Africa is clear. With our investment in Farmerline, we are supporting those most affected by price volatility. Our investments in the agricultural sector are an integral part of Oikocredit’s work as a social impact investor, and we have identified partnerships with other portfolio companies. We are excited to support the Farmerline team and smallholder communities in Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Farmerline’s other equity investors include Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), FMO, Dutch Entrepreneur Development Bank and Greater Impact Foundation.
