Kune, a Kenyan foodtech startup, has closed a $1 million pre-seed round led by pan-African venture capital firm Launch Africa Ventures. Other investors that joined the round include Century Oak Capital GmbH and Consonance, with a contribution from ecosystem management firm Pariti.
Kune will use the new investment to launch its on-demand food service in August.
Founded by CEO Robin Reecht in December 2020, the startup delivers freshly made, ready-to-eat meals at arguably affordable prices.
To ensure a steady supply, the startup raised $50,000, restructured, hired, and built a factory to produce 5,000 affordable meals daily. The meals are cooked and packaged in the factory and delivered directly to online, retail, and corporate customers.
On the launch of the on-demand food service in August, Kune says that it plans on getting deliveries completed on an average of 30 minutes daily. To achieve this, it says it will own the entire supply chain from cooking to packaging to delivery with its own drivers and motorbikes.
Once launched, the company will build its own fleet of 100 electric motorcycles by early 2022. In addition, there are plans to hire 100 female drivers.
Currently, Kune showcases three different meals daily: two continental dishes and one foreign meal. In the coming months and quarters, Kune’s offerings will cut across microwavable meals, weight reduction meals and retail meals to target European and U.S. clients.
