ColdHubs has been named winner of the FCMB Agritech Epic Pitch 2020.
ColdHubs beat 5 other startups–Farmz2U, Beat Drone, Tradebuza, Farmspeak Technology, and AgroHive-at the grand finale of the FCMB Agritech Epic Pitch 2020 held online on Friday 28th August.
The agritech/renewable energy startup which was founded in 2015 by Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu designs, installs, commissions and operates 100% solar-powered walk-in cold rooms branded as “ColdHubs”, in markets and farm clusters.
The Hubs are used by smallholder farmers, retailers, and wholesalers, to store and preserve fresh fruits, vegetables, and other perishable foods 24/7, extending their shelf life from 2 days to 21 days.
Meet ColdHubs, a Solar-powered Walk-in Cold Room Helping Farmers Increase Their Income
Meanwhile, AgroHive founded by Chiamaka Ndukwu Theresa was named runner-up of the FCMB Agritech Epic Pitch.
AgroHive is Africa’s first Agricultural HR startup deploying ICT in assisting over 1,000 agribusinesses to tackle 1 of their biggest challenges, which is to have easy access to a consistent supply of skilled agricultural staff that will increase agribusiness productivity and profitability.
The two winning start-ups will receive a seed grant of up to N1.5 million from FCMB, in addition to access to workspace and networks for innovation and collaboration through Hub One.
Congratulations to the team!#FCMB #ThriveWithFCMB #MyBankAndI #FCMBSupportsTech
— FCMB (@MyFCMB) August 28, 2020
The finalists pitched to Kudzai Gumunyu, Divisional Head, Agric Business at FCMB; Kola Masha, Managing Director at Babban Gona; Yemi Keri, Co-founder at Rising Tide Africa and Rishi Raithatha, Insights Manager, AgriTech Programme at GSMA for a chance to be among the winners.
ColdHubs and AgroHive will receive a seed grant of up to N1.5 million from FCMB, in addition to access to workspace and networks for innovation and collaboration through Hub One.
The journey to the 3rd edition and demo day of the program started with a call for application in May.
The application phase lasted 3 weeks and saw close to 2,000 Agritech startups from over 16 countries around the world apply, making it the largest number of applications received since the inception of the program.
The Agritech Epic Pitch is a program powered by FCMB and Passion Incubator. It is geared towards building and accelerating the growth of agritech startups in Africa and also helping young and self-driven Nigerian entrepreneurs grow their business.
