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“We’re very excited”: Kenyan agritech startup Synnefa gets Google’s attention.
- Google selected 60 startups from Africa to benefit from a share of the KSh 479 million Black Founders Fund
- In Kenya, 12 firms, including agritech Synnefa, were among the startups founded by Kenyans without any foreign aid
- Synnefa Chief Executive Officer Taita Ngetich said it was an exciting chance and the firm looks set to empower farmers and improve food security
Food security is a critical component that industry stakeholders have been striving to achieve and eliminate poverty in the country.
Source: UGC
Agricultural produce
Agritech startups significantly offer quality farm inputs, modern farming tools and loans to help improve farm produce
In an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke Synnefa Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Taita Ngetich said the government needs to collaborate with agritech companies to achieve its goals in agricultural development.
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Ngetich noted there is a need for a centralised farmers database run by the government, which will ensure ease of access by various stakeholders.
“There is a lot of innovation happening around agriculture in Kenya, but every entity operates in a silo. We need a central database of all farmers in Kenya owned and maintained by the government.
“The harmonised digital database will enable agritech companies to build on this database without having to invest in setting up their own,” said Ngetich.
Synnefa, which was recently listed for Google Black Founders Fund, is an agritech startup providing modern farming tools to African farmers.
According to Ngetich, the firm builds smart greenhouses and irrigation systems that automatically irrigate crops.
Loans for farmers
He said the firm operates a digital platform, the first in Africa, that combines hardware and software tools to unlock lending for farmers.
“On FarmCloud, farmers are able to keep their farm records digitally, order for farm inputs, speak to experienced agronomists and access agriloans from our partners who offer credit. Think of it as a mini ERP for farmers.”
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“All farm soil and crop health data are recorded into FarmCloud.”
Ngetich noted that Kenyan farmers face challenges related to unpredictable weather patterns, increasing input costs, inconsistent markets and difficulty in accessing credit.
The CEO said such challenges can be minimised for improved yields through proper irrigation.
“We equip all our farms with an intelligent irrigation system called FarmShield that ensures your crops are irrigated adequately throughout the season. This system enables farmers to reduce water and farm input costs by up to 60% while increasing yield by up to 30%,” he said.
The firm’s commitment to supporting farmers through modern technology was a great milestone that earned it Google’s recognition.
Google Black Founders Fund
Synnefa was selected among 60 African startups, 12 from Kenya, to benefit from a share of KSh 479 million Black Founders Fund.
“We are excited to receive this non-dilutive funding from Google. This win gives us validation that we are building a company that can scale globally and is solving a critical need for farmers in Africa. Raising capital as a Black Founder is challenging, this win speaks to the level of hard work and support we had for farmers.”
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Ngetich said they will use the fund to empower farmers through direct agriloans and expand FarmShield investments across the country.
“We will commence pilot lending directly to our farmers who keep their farming records on FarmCloud and increase distribution FarmShield across Kenya.
“We will also be growing our team to continue supporting our farmers and growing the trust they have accorded us over the years,” Ngetich revealed.
He said the firm has over 23 employees, majorly based in Kenya and some in India.
The business has been making profits and plans to increase and expand its operations by 2023.
“We are cash flow positive and operating profitably with the plan to raise our seed round in 2023 to continue on this path.
“Our smart greenhouse prices start from as low as KES.180,000 for a 4Mx10M unit, Our intelligent irrigation system FarmShield starts at KES.55,000 while FarmCloud is free for 1 farmer and 1 user.”
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The CEO noted that the only challenge the firm faces are limited internet in remote areas.
Internet connectivity in remote Kenya
He said they are leveraging satellite internet to unlock untapped potential opportunities in such areas.
“Some of the farmers we support are located in very remote areas with no internet, making it difficult for FarmShields to collect and send data on soil and crop health.
“We have therefore been working on leveraging satellite internet so that we can be able to collect soil and crop health data across 99% of farms in Kenya.”
Ngetich said Synnefa looks set to digitise operations in over 100,000 farms, impacting over 500,000 farmers and increasing their presence in over 5 countries across Africa.
World Bank tackles food security in Africa
In related news, TUKO.co.ke reported that World Bank rolled out its food security programme in June 2022 to cushion the Eastern and Southern Africa region from food shortage.
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The programme is a nine-year-long multi-phased intervention toward deteriorating food insecurity exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
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