EGYPT – FreshSource, the MENA region’s first B2B agri-supply chain platform, has announced a seven-figure investment to cut food loss in Egypt.
The latest seed round was led by 4DX Ventures and Wamda to enable FreshSource to create more sustainable fresh food systems through their tech platform.
The funding will be directed towards further geographical expansion within the Egyptian market, investing in their technology platform, and growing the team, while also keeping an eye on future expansion in the region.
“With our management, finance, and tech background we would build a high-growth and impactful business that will introduce new ways of sourcing in the country,” said Farah Emara, CEO & Co-Founder
The Cairo-based, fresh food platform, aims to leverage technology and data, to become the leading fresh food distributor in the region, by changing the way fresh goods are sourced, moved, and sold.
“This new investment will allow us to continue to bring top talent on board and build the team we need to achieve our mission and accelerate our growth,” said Omar Emara, COO & Co-Founder.
The startup has built a strong network of thousands of producers and hundreds of businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, online retailers, and traditional retailers supplying them with their fresh fruit and vegetable needs.
The company is scaling at a rapid pace and is now serving major customers across 11 Egyptian cities in a bid to improve the agricultural sector of the North African country.
The platform also aims to streamline retail prices of fresh produce for the local market along the supply chain.
According to 2020 ECES, the final retail price of fresh produce sold to consumers is twice as high as the original price of the product initially sold to the farmer.
This is mainly chalked up to inefficient logistics, forcing retailers to raise prices to make up for the money spent on transportation and inventory management processes.
The company is taking a value chain approach to improve the economic and environmental efficiency of the food supply chain in Egypt where food loss has reached an all-time high of nearly 45% due to improper handling and storage techniques.
FreshSource being one of the first agritech start-up to address food loss carries a lot of responsibility to prove that the agriculture industry is ready for disruption.
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