We recently invested in Complete Farmer, a digital marketplace that enables global corporations to source agricultural commodities directly from smallholder farmers across Africa. The agritech startup, based in Ghana, addresses challenges experienced by smallholder farmers, including financing, infrastructure, and technical insight, transforming farming practices, and boosting agricultural productivity.
iStock/Galeanu Mihai
The relentless pursuit of short-term gains and cost-cutting in agricultural industrialization across developed markets has triggered significant long-term sustainability challenges. This approach not only jeopardizes our environment and well-being but also raises concerns about the future of global food production.
In contrast, small-scale farming has emerged as a key solution to building a resilient and eco-friendly food production system. Smaller farms are typically more productive per hectare and produce crops that are more sustainable and adaptable to the adverse effects of climate change.
However, smallholder farmers in Africa face numerous challenges, including a lack of financing, infrastructure, logistics solutions, technical knowledge, and committed buyers. This lack of support and access to markets has led to inconsistencies in their supply of raw materials, middleman exploitation, reduced farm durability, and, ultimately, a vicious cycle of underinvestment in Africa’s agricultural industry.
Complete Farmer solves these challenges by:
- Enabling growers to access the export market and earn USD-based revenue.
- Improve yields of smallholder farmers through precision farming tools and data-driven cultivation protocols
- Improve consistency in agricultural supply through access to working capital for farmers
- International buyers can easily access quality certified crops through a seamless, digitalized and transparent process.
Newtown Partners, through DP World’s Innovation Venture Fund, participated in Complete Farmer’s pre-Series A US$10.4 million funding round alongside Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), Alitheia Capital via its uMunthu II Fund, Proparco and VestedWorld Rising Star Fund in the equity portion.
Debt financing was provided by Sahel Capital’s Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA), Alpha Mundi Group through its Alpha Jiri Investment Fund, and Global Social Impact Investments to fund both CAPEX and working capital investments in support of short and long-term growth.
This funding will empower Complete Farmer to enhance its technology infrastructure, scale its operations, and drive expansion into other African countries while improving sustainability and visibility from farm to table for large commodity buyers.
Complete Farmer stands as a compelling investment opportunity for DP World’s Innovation Venture Fund. The company is not just seeking a long-term logistics partner; they are on a mission to transform cold-chain in Africa. With an eye on international commodity buyers, Complete Farmer aims to amplify agricultural exports from the ports of West and East Africa. This partnership promises to reshape the landscape of cold chain capabilities in the region.
Newtown Partners is excited to work with Complete Farmer to help them build a growing partnership with DP World and to facilitate synergies between their other portfolio startups, like Shypple, who are creating efficiencies in cross-border fresh produce trade.
Since its inception in 2017, Complete Farmer has already achieved notable milestones in revenue growth and market expansion, bringing together over 12,000 farmers across five key regions in Ghana, and overseeing the cultivation of over 30,000 acres of land and delivering commodities internationally.
The passionate team understands the challenges in the African market and is applying a technology and data-first approach to transform traditional agriculture into a more efficient and profitable industry.
With its proven asset-light marketplace business model, Complete Farmer is well-positioned to transform the African agriculture value chain and contribute to food security, economic growth, and sustainability on the continent.
