iProcure, a Kenyan agritech startup, has lately secured a $10.2 million Collection B financing led by Investisseurs & Partenaires. The funding, structured as debt and fairness, will assist iProcure’s enlargement into Uganda and Tanzania in addition to their launch of a credit score providing for agro-retailers to buy provides on credit score. Different contributors within the funding spherical had been Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), and Ceniarth.
IProcure cuts out the a number of ranges of middlemen within the conventional agricultural provide chain and gives technology-driven insights on provide ranges and costs. This ensures the provision, high quality, and supply of vital agricultural inputs like fertilisers and seeds at a reduced worth from prevailing market costs.
Talking on the elevate, Niraj Varia, iProcure’s new CEO and former accomplice at iProcure’s key investor, Novastar Ventures, stated, “Along with bolstering our current operations with extra warehouses and supply automobiles, this funding will increase iProcure’s product providing to incorporate credit score providers and a brand new POS system for agro-dealers to raised forecast their stock wants and scale back pilferage inside their retailers. This can assist our 5,000+ accomplice retailers enhance their earnings and higher serve the tons of of 1000’s of farmers that depend upon every store.”
By making certain smallholder farmers can plant their crops on time and obtain increased crop yields with much less land, iProcure helps to decrease meals prices and reduce the local weather affect of agriculture. Having grown 23 instances during the last 5 years, iProcure is streamlining the supply of essential agricultural inputs to over 1 million farmers in Africa.
Sara Taylor, Head of SME Funds at British Worldwide Funding, stated “iProcure solves the issue of connecting smallholder farmers with the best inputs on the proper time. BII is happy to accomplice with iProcure to assist construct a extra inclusive, resilient, and environment friendly provide chain for agricultural inputs in Africa.”
Abel Boreto, Affiliate Funding Director at Novastar Ventures, added, “iProcure has grown 23 instances within the 5 years since Novastar invested. This speaks to the demand for its providers, which now attain over 1,000,000 Kenyan farmers. Novastar stays a stalwart supporter of iProcure’s development and market entry into Tanzania and Uganda the place they are going to little question deliver immense worth to the agricultural sector there.”
Asif Noorani, Senior Funding Supervisor of Influence Investing at I&P, stated, “iProcure is enjoying a pivotal function in reworking the agricultural sector in Africa by digitising the agro-retailer networks and making last-mile agricultural inputs distribution extra environment friendly. At its core, iProcure is bettering farmers’ entry to real and reasonably priced agricultural inputs by consolidating the area’s fragmented agricultural inputs sector. These processes in the end decrease the price of meals manufacturing and enhance meals safety.”
By creating its personal distribution infrastructure and utilizing it to hyperlink important agricultural enter suppliers with close by agro-dealers instantly, iProcure is altering standard agricultural provide chains in East Africa.