Entrepreneurship Zone: 20 February 2023 :: Cold storage for African farmers: Entrepreneurs see big potential

Mon Feb 20 06:51:33 CAT 2023

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Entrepreneurship Zone: 20 February 2023 :: Cold storage for African
farmers: Entrepreneurs see big potential

*          

A growing number of entrepreneurs and investors in Africa are recognising
the potential of providing smallholder farmers with cold-storage solutions.

Africa’s farmers often lack a place to store their harvested perishable
crops, which creates an urgency to sell their produce quickly and exposes
them to exploitation from brokers. Additionally, it is estimated that 30-40%
of horticultural produce in sub-Saharan Africa does not make it to market,
hindered by informal and unreliable supply chains.

Earlier this month, US-based impact investment fund Acumen announced its
investment in SokoFresh, a Kenyan enterprise that offers smallholder farmers
solar-powered, mobile cold-storage facilities for vegetables and herbs in
rural areas. Businesses that purchase perishable crops from local farmers
can rent storage space from SokoFresh. The company also provides farmers
with a service that connects them directly to large-scale buyers of
agricultural produce, including retailers and exporters.

Another business tapping into this opportunity is Savenda Capital, which is
in the process of establishing a modern, purpose-built fresh produce market
in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, providing small-scale farmers an alternative to
informal open-air markets that lack cold-storage space and often have
exploitative commission structures. The 6,400m2 ZAMBIAFresh Lusaka Market
will feature refrigeration and ripening rooms to reduce spoilage and ensure
freshness. The venture aims to offer fair prices for buyers and sellers
through transparent market rules and a trading software system. It will
implement strict food handling and hygiene standards and traceability of all
produce to its original producer. 

In Nigeria, ColdHubs also operates solar-powered cold rooms, supplying a
pay-as-you-store service for fresh produce to smallholder farmers and market
merchants. Each 3m2 cooling unit can hold three tonnes of food. A customer
pays 200 Nigerian naira (about half a US dollar) to store fresh produce in a
20kg returnable plastic crate, for one day. Founded in 2015, today the
company has 54 hubs in 22 states.  

The demand for refrigeration is not limited to small-scale farmers. Market
merchants and other businesses in countries with limited power supply from
the grid also require these solutions. Nigeria-based Koolboks is targeting
this group and has developed an off-grid, solar-powered unit that works as a
refrigerator or freezer, which can stay cool for up to four days without
power and sunlight. The units also come with two LED lighting bulbs and USB
ports for charging mobile phones. Koolboks has integrated pay-as-you-go
technology, which makes the units more affordable. Last year, the business
closed a $2.5 million seed funding round, led by Aruwa Capital Management,
bringing its total investment to date to $3.5 million 

A SokoFresh solar-powered cold-storage facility.

-howwemadeitinafrica

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

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