Afrigather Downforce Applied sciences, a London-headquartered local weather tech startup that gives farmers with know-how instruments to measure soil fertility, has raised $4.2 million to construct new merchandise centered on Africa and broaden into new markets.
The funding spherical was led by Equator VC, an African early-stage local weather tech-focused enterprise agency. Tiverton Agriculture Influence Fund, Dragonfly Enviro Capital, Perivoli Improvements, and the Clear Vitality Finance Company (CEFC), whose funding is managed by Virescent Ventures, stay present shareholders within the firm.
“This funding permits us to democratise entry to the know-how and empower a wider viewers to make data-driven selections for soil well being and local weather motion,” the corporate’s CEO Professor Jacquie McGlade mentioned in a press release.
Launched in 2020, Downforce Applied sciences led by Professor Jacquie McGlade provides cost-effective distant sensing software program that helps farmers measure soil well being in report time. The corporate additionally supplies instruments for planning and executing verified carbon initiatives, accumulating and reporting farm emissions knowledge in addition to implementing soil well being enchancment initiatives.
Africa contributes solely a small fraction of worldwide meals manufacturing. In 2021, whole meals exports in Africa was simply over $60 billion whereas the U.S. exported $177 billion value of meals in the identical 12 months. Whereas the continent has the capability to supply extra given its uncultivated arable land, the lack to measure its soil fertility additionally poses an ideal problem. Measurements are often costly, time-consuming, and have a excessive danger for errors.
Downforce Applied sciences is a part of a rising group of local weather tech startups—AgroCares, SoilSense, Regen Applied sciences, and EcoPeanut—providing varied options for soil carbon measurement, farm administration, and local weather sustainability for African farmers.
“Downforce has efficiently launched a compelling software program platform which ought to act as a catalyst for elevated funding in soil natural carbon globally, and notably in Africa, to make sure meals safety, promote local weather mitigation, and guarantee resilience to local weather change,” mentioned Nijhad Jamal, Managing Accomplice at Equator.
