Complete Farmer, a digital marketplace that brings together African farmers and international buyers, has raised $10.4 million in an equity and debt funding round.
The pre-series A round attracted the participation of industry leaders such as Alitheia Capital, Goodwell Investment via its uMunthu II fund, the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), Proparco, Newton Partners for equity financing; and Sahel Capital, Alpha Mundi Group and Global Social Investments for debt financing.
Led by CEO Desmond Koney and an experienced management team, Ghana-based Complete Farmer (CF) is addressing some of the biggest challenges in Africa’s agriculture value chain. Using data and technology, the company is building a more sustainable, more inclusive agricultural ecosystem by serving the needs of two distinct audiences: farmers and commodity buyers.
Complete Farmer’s insights give farmers an advantage from the start, introducing modern farming techniques and data-driven cultivation protocols to improve productivity and reduce post-harvest losses.
Through its platform, these smallholder and commercial farmers also gain direct access to global buyers, ensuring premium pricing and guaranteed offtake of their crops. For example, farmers selling through Complete Farmer see average net profit margins of 52%, compared to 20% when selling through middlemen.
At the same time, the startup provides international buyers – including some of the world’s largest FMCG companies – reliable access to commodities grown to their exact specifications. The Complete Farmer platform allows them to easily source certified crops and digitally monitor every step of the procurement process, ensuring consistency and superior quality at a fair cost.
Coming from a farming family himself, CEO Desmond Coney has a unique understanding of the challenges of the agricultural section, explaining, “We realized there was demand and needed to determine how to satisfy it. One of the most important insights we gained was that for the majority of the large buyers, such as FMCGs and food processors, there was a specific quality they wanted that most African farmers, who were seeking market access and higher yields, lacked.
“As farmers, they may know how to cultivate soybeans. However, they wouldn’t know how to obtain the specifications that these large buyers desired, such as oil and protein content. So using a data-driven methodology, we developed cultivation protocols that help smallholder farmers farm more efficiently, produce superior commodities and satisfy market demand.”
Oluwakemi Olajide, Senior Investment Associate at Ailtheia Capital is enthusiastic about the company’s potential to drive impact with its innovative and sustainable business model, commenting, “Complete Farmer is creating access to global markets for African farmers by leveraging technology and farming protocols to enable farmers to produce crops that meet global market specifications. This in turn improves the yields, incomes, and livelihoods of the farmers”.
Tokunboh Ishmael, Managing Partner at Alitheia Capital, adds, “We are proud of Complete Farmer’s work and the opportunity to amplify our desired outcomes of fortifying the African agricultural value chain and bolstering export prospects through this investment in Complete Farmer. Employing home-grown technology developed in Africa, Complete Farmer serves as a vital bridge that connects local farmers and their products with global markets and financial resources. This connectivity results in increased incomes for farmers, elevated product quality, broader access for buyers, and an overall enhancement of global trade dynamics.”
Complete Farmer has already made significant contributions to the industry, bringing together over 8,000 farmers, overseeing the cultivation of 31,429 acres of land, and delivering commodities to buyers in Europe, Asia and beyond. The pre-series A funding will directly support Complete Farmer’s ambitions to expand its reach. In the near term, the company’s top priorities include further developing the capabilities of its digital platform, researching new ways to increase farmers’ yields, and expanding operations in Ghana and beyond to better meet increasing demand from buyers.
Alongside geographic expansion and technological innovation, Complete Farmer will also use the funding to forge strategic partnerships with key stakeholders in the agriculture and technology sectors. With extensive experience in West Africa and far beyond, Goodwell and Alitheia Capital look forward to playing an active role in expanding the company’s network and supporting its growth and impact ambitions for years to come.
