Shamba Pride has worked since 2016 to improve last-mile distribution for agricultural inputs and address price and quality exploitation issues for farmers through its dealer network called digishops.
agtech has, so far, built a network of 2,700 agro-dealers spanning 24 counties in Kenya, representing just over half the country. It now plans to expand further in the country to cover more retailers and agricultural areas next year and later explore neighboring markets such as Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, which have similar agricultural input supply chain challenges such as procurement, unpredictability prices, quality challenges and stocks.
Its expansion in Kenya, which also includes the expansion of its franchise network, will be fueled by a $3.7 million pre-series A equity debt financing the company has secured from the EU’s agriculture funding initiative EDFI AgriFI and Seedstars Africa Ventures (SAV). The new funding, which includes $1.7 million in equity, follows $1.1 million in capital raised in 2021 by SAV and Gray Matters Capital.
Shamba Pride digitizes farmers to power various tasks, including business management and inventory ordering, which ensures the availability of supplies like fertilizers and seeds to millions of small-scale farmers in rural areas.
“The distribution of agriculture in rural communities is largely controlled by farmers who decide how farmers have access to inputs, services and training. We empower these farmers by providing them with the right tools and technology to showcase their businesses, grow professionally and commercially and provide the right support to the farmers around them,” Shamba Pride Founder and CEO, Samuel Mungutihe told TechCruch.
The agtech also provides farmers with market linkages, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) financial services and training information through its USSD platform.
It mainly targets small-scale farmers who are part of Kenya’s agricultural sector, which contributes 33% of the country’s gross domestic product, employs over 40% of the country’s population and more than 70% of them in rural areas. It also accounts for 65% of its export earnings, making it a key sector of the country’s economy and a hotbed for innovators.
“The success of Shamba Pride is based on innovations that make everyday farming activities easier. We are proud to support a scalable model that generates additional income for farmers and farmers (agro-traders) and contributes significantly to successful female entrepreneurship,” said Maxime Bouan, general partner of SAV, which last week received $30 million and 10 .5 dollars from the EIB and the AFDB, respectively.
SAV is an agnostic fund interested in start-ups that address basic needs such as education, healthcare and utilities or improving goods, services and efficiency.
Shamba Pride sources stock from partners such as French multinational Elephant Verve who supply it with “climate-smart” farm inputs, part of the agtech strategy to build resilience for smallholder farmers.
