Twiga Foods the food distribution company has raised $ 23.75 Million in a a Series B equity round led by Goldman Sachs, with participation from existing investors including the International Finance Corporation, TLcom Capital and Creadev. It also raised $ 6 Million in debt from OPIC and Alpha Mundi.
The Series B is expected to fund the continued development of Twiga’s proprietary technology and logistics assets to support the roll-out of its distribution system and lay the foundations for expansion into other countries on the continent.
Twiga Foods was founded by Grant Brooke and Peter Njonjo in 2014. It works by linking smallholder farmers in rural Kenya to informal retail vendors in cities. With Twiga’s mobile platform, vendors can be able order fresh produce from farmers across Kenya at the most competitive prices.
It operates a mobile-based, cashless platform to aggregate urban retail demand, offering thousands of small and medium-sized vendors convenient one-stop shop ordering. Retailers have access to lower-cost, higher-quality fresh produce and processed food, conveniently and reliably delivered to their doorstep within 18 hours of ordering. As a result, farmers and food manufacturers have guaranteed access to a fairly priced, transparent marketplace. Twiga pays farmers within 48 hours of collection with mobile money, providing them with increased income visibility and permitting better financial planning.
They are also tackling inefficiencies in the supply chain, thus helping to reduce food prices for consumers. Currently, between 30 and 50 percent of fresh produce is lost through poor post-harvest processes. Through investment in its supply chain and material handling, Twiga has reduced the level of food waste by up to 70% compared to the market averages.
Peter Njonjo, CEO and Co-founder at Twiga Foods, had this to say, “This funding enables us to invest in our technology and organization to tackle the inefficiencies in Africa’s domestic food production and distribution ecosystems; a $300bn informal and fragmented market that is estimated to grow to $1trn by 2030. With the support of our investors, we are developing technology-driven commercial solutions and cooperating with existing industry players to solve the challenge of food security in Africa.”