iProcure is an African data-driven agritech startup, whose mission is to lower the cost of production for farmers.
The startup has raised $10.2 million in Series B funding, which consisted of both equity and debt from a variety of international investors. The lead investor was Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), with Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (also known as BII), and Ceniarth also participating.
Credit offering for agro-retailers
iProcure is expanding to Tanzania and Uganda, and will start a credit program for retailers in the agro business to buy their supplies on credit. They have received funding to support these two endeavors.
Niraj Varia is the new CEO of the company, and is also a partner at Novastar Ventures, iProcure’s key investor. Varia said that the additional funding will help iProcure expand their product offering to include credit services and a POS system for agro-dealers. This will help retailers improve their earnings, as well as help farmers who shop in the retailers’ stores. The POS system will allow agro-dealers to better forecast their inventory needs and reduce theft in their stores.
Impact and Profit investment management firm I&P commented on iProcure, saying that the software is helping to improve agricultural distribution in the African agricultural sector. iProcure is helping to digitize retailer networks in the agriculture industry and make last-mile distribution more efficient. Essentially, the company is making farmers have better access to real, affordable farming supplies, which makes food production cheaper and increases food security. Asif Noorani, Senior Investment Manager of Impact Investing at I&P, made the statement.
Novastar Ventures invested in iProcure five years ago, and since then the company has grown 23 times. Abel Boreto, an investment director at Novastar Ventures, says that this shows that there is a huge demand for iProcure’s services, which are used by over 1000 000 Kenyan farmers. Novastar Ventures will continue to support iProcure as they enter the Tanzanian and Ugandan markets, and bring huge value to the agricultural industry there.
British International Investment specializes in helping small business funds. Sara Taylor is the Head of Small Business Funds. She has partnered with iProcure to help farmers get the right supplies at the right time. iProcure is going to help build a better, more efficient, and inclusive supply chain for agricultural supplies in Africa.
Revolutionises agricultural supply chains
iProcure is the largest agricultural supply chain platform in Africa. The company was established in Kenya by Stefano Carcoforo and Nicole Galletta in 2013, and provides complete procurement and last-mile distribution services along with business intelligence and data-driven inventory management across the supply chains.
They have changed the way traditional agricultural supply chains work in East Africa by creating their own distribution system using their unique distribution technology. This system connects major input suppliers to local agro-dealers, instead of using traditional supply chain models.
The african firm provides real-time information and technology to assist in the supply and price of seeds and fertilizers. Their system eliminates the multiple levels of markup in the traditional agricultural supply chain, and provides these items at up to a 25% discount compared to market prices.
The company helps farmers plant their crops on time, and help them grow more of their crop on less land. This helps reduce the impact agriculture has on the climate, by lowering the costs of food, as well.
