KENYA – iProcure, a tech and data-driven agricultural inputs supply company, has announced the close of a US$10.2 million Series B funding round to support its expansion into Uganda and Tanzania.
The fund will also support the launch of a credit offering for agro-retailers to purchase supplies on credit.
The debt and equity fund was led by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) and also saw participation from Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), and Ceniarth, and it brings the total funding raised by iProcure, so far, to US$17.2 million
“In addition to bolstering our existing operations with more warehouses and delivery vehicles, this funding will expand iProcure’s product offering to include credit services and a new POS system for agro-dealers to better forecast their inventory needs and reduce pilferage within their shops,” Niraj Varia, iProcure’s new CEO and former partner at iProcure key investor, Novastar Ventures, said.
“This will help our 5,000+ partner retailers increase their earnings and better serve the hundreds of thousands of farmers that depend on each shop.”
iProcure was cofounded by Stefano Carcoforo – also the former CEO who since been replaced by ex-Novastar partner Niraj Varia, Nicole Galletta (head of innovation), Patrick Wanjohi (chief technical officer) and Bernard Maingi (chief commercial officer).
iProcure has revolutionized traditional agricultural supply chains in East Africa by developing its own distribution infrastructure connecting major agricultural input suppliers directly to local agro-dealers via its proprietary distribution technology system.
By cutting out the multiple levels of middlemen in the traditional agricultural supply chain and providing technology-driven insights on supply levels and price, iProcure ensures the availability, quality, and delivery of critical agricultural inputs like fertilizers and seeds at up to 25% discount from prevailing market prices.
iProcure is enabling the lowering of food costs and lessening the climate impact of agriculture by ensuring smallholder farmers can plant their crops on time and achieve higher crop yields while using less land,” Asif Noorani, Senior Investment Manager of Impact Investing at I&P, said.
“iProcure is playing a pivotal role in transforming the agricultural sector in Africa by digitizing the agro-retailer networks and making last-mile agricultural inputs distribution more efficient.
“At its core, iProcure is improving farmers’ access to genuine and affordable agricultural inputs by consolidating the region’s fragmented agricultural inputs sector.
“These processes ultimately lower the cost of food production and improve food security.”
Abel Boreto, Associate Investment Director at Novastar Ventures, added that iProcure has grown 23X in the five years since Novastar invested.
“This speaks to the demand for its services, which now reach over 1,000,000 Kenyan farmers. Novastar remains a stalwart supporter of iProcure’s growth and market entry into Tanzania and Uganda where they will no doubt bring immense value to the agricultural sector there,” he added.
Sara Taylor, Head of SME Funds at British International Investment said that iProcure solves the problem of connecting smallholder farmers with the right inputs at the right time.
BII is excited to partner with iProcure to help build a more inclusive, resilient, and efficient supply chain for agricultural inputs in Africa.
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